By MIAH STRINGER
Staff Writer
On September 18, 2020, 87-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. Her tragic death leaves an open seat within the Supreme Court, and the person who fills that seat will be nominated by the current president, Donald Trump.
President Trump has chosen Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Justice RBG, but will he be able to solidify this seat before election day? In order for Judge Barret to have a seat on the Supreme Court, she needs senate confirmation. However, there are a lot of conflicts with this situation, no other justices have been approved after July during an election year ever before in American history. With a short 38 days away from election, political tension is higher than ever.
Democrats have expressed outrage over republican hypocrisy. During the last presidential election when a spot was open on the Supreme Court, Republicans had pushed for the spot to be filled after the election. This meant that the former Democratic President, Barack Obama, would not be able to choose the next Supreme Court Justice. Now, republicans are pushing for the nomination to be filled immediately. Although there are no set rules for this situation, it leaves a lot of room for future changes in the Supreme Court. For one, there is no set rule for there to be a set amount of justices, meaning that if Biden is elected, he could add multiple justices to balance out the court.
If Judge Barrett is confirmed, she will be the 5th woman in history to serve in the Supreme Court. Judge Barrett would be the sixth Catholic on the court, and at 48, the youngest member as well. If she is confirmed, Judge Barrett will tip the scale very heavily to the republicans, leaving a lot of democrats uncertain and angry about this nomination. If a Supreme Court Justice is selected before the election, it is likely that a lot of things may be overturned. With the Senate and the Supreme Court as republican, laws like Roe v. Wade are in danger. Now is the most important election to vote in order to get your voice heard.