What Are The Stakes? Assessing the 2024 Electoral Campaign.

 


If you believe the polls, the Harris/Walz ticket is poised to take the White House this November 5. Here’s the thing: even that victory won’t be enough to make the changes this country desperately needs to have made.

The United States is not a monarchy. We elect presidents, not kings or dictators. 

Can a Harris presidency bring about real change with Congress in its current state? Maybe—but sweeping reforms won’t happen unless members of a cooperative Congress reach a majority of both the House and the Senate to weigh in on how the president runs the country.

The point I’m trying to make is simple: Your vote for your Senate or House of Representatives seat is just as crucial as your vote for president. 

Wondering what’s at stake? Let’s talk about judges. 

According to uscourts.gov, “Article III of the Constitution governs the appointment, tenure, and payment of Supreme Court justices and federal circuit and district judges.” These “Article III judges” are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

It’s not as easy as first thought, Barack Obama’s legacy was hindered by a Republican-run House and Senate that blocked most of his judicial appointments. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, two of his successful picks, have been pivotal in countering far-right decisions of the Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justices.

Now, we have a chance to select over a dozen new federal judges. We need a Democratic-leaning Congress to approve the choices of a Democratic administration. 

That’s where your vote comes in. The Constitution gives you the power to choose your representatives—and by extension, your judges.

Concerned about women’s reproductive rights? Worried about wrongful convictions? Want to see white-collar crime prosecuted to the fullest?

Vote Democratic or left-leaning, from the executive branch down to local offices like animal control. I’m only partially exaggerating. Many elected officials have gone on to become foreign ambassadors or leaders with national influence. 

Let me end with this: Get registered to vote. Study your voter pamphlets. Educate yourself on the issues. If not for yourself, do it for the generations who will one day look across the dinner table and ask what you did before the world fell apart.

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