For Immediate Release

PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS COMMIT TO CONSIDERING SUPREME COURT EXPANSION IN MAKING CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

Latest sign of fast-building momentum for court expansion

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 21, 2021) — Some big names in progressive politics are putting would-be Democratic candidates on notice that Supreme Court expansion is a priority for voters.

Just weeks after leaders in the U.S. House and Senate introduced the Judiciary Act of 2021 to add four seats to the Supreme Court, Indivisible, Sunrise Movement, and Working Families Party have all committed to asking whether candidates support Court expansion on their endorsement questionnaires.

“This news reflects the mounting pressure on Congress to take action on the Court,” said Take Back the Court Director Aaron Belkin. “The future of our democracy is at stake, and these groups are sending a strong signal that voters — particularly in Democratic primaries — expect their leaders to have a plan to restore balance to the Court and protect progress,” Belkin added.

"Last year, we saw Democratic primaries elevate candidates like now-Representative Mondaire Jones -- candidates who understand that the conservative capture of the judiciary is a major problem and that court expansion is one of the best solutions we have,” said Lucy Solomon, national political director for Indivisible. “Our commitment to asking candidates about court expansion reflects this growing consensus among progressives that restoring balance to the court is a vital and urgent task for Congress."

“Restoring balance to the court and restoring balance to our planet go hand in hand,” said Evan Weber, national political director for Sunrise Movement. “What good is electing bold fighters to take on the climate crisis if an oil-soaked, corporate Supreme Court can smack down any law they may try to pass? We view restoration of the integrity of the court as critical to our fight to win a Green New Deal.”

“The Supreme Court is the linchpin of the Republican Party's strategy to lock in minority rule, and the GOP has been relentless in its efforts to stack the Supreme Court with right wing ideologues. Unless the Supreme Court is rebalanced, the 6-3 right-wing majority will continue to defy the will of the majority on issues ranging from climate change, to labor rights, to consumer protection, to voting rights,” said Maurice Mitchell, Working Families Party National Director.

Today’s announcement is the latest sign of fast-building momentum for Supreme Court expansion and a reflection of voters’ increased concern at the direction of the stolen, right-wing Court majority. It comes as the conservative justices are signaling yet another rightward lurch, taking up cases that could overturn Roe v. Wade and obliterate state and local gun control laws.

Take Back the Court raises awareness about the urgent need to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court to address the theft of the court by Senator Mitch McConnell during the Obama Administration. Without adding seats, Congress will not be able to restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency, or pass new legislation. Court expansion, which can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment, is the only reform that enables the un-rigging of the system and the restoration of democracy. Learn more at https://www.takebackthecourt.today.