State supreme courts can have a dramatic impact on politics and policy, and this year, we have an extraordinary chance to impact two different high courts in two key states. It starts by electing Sam Bagenstos in Michigan and Anita Earls in North Carolina, both of whom are widely respective civil rights lawyers who’ve been endorsed by the Democratic Party in their respective states.
We recently saw what a progressive Supreme Court can do in Pennsylvania, where the majority on the state’s highest court delivered a landmark ruling that invalidated the GOP’s congressional gerrymander and replaced it with a map that’s fair to both parties—the first time any such gerrymander had ever been struck down by the courts.
As federal courts fill up with Trump appointees, state courts are becoming the last line of defense on matters ranging from civil rights to voting rights to workers’ rights. But in states that elect their judges, we can impact who sits on the bench and help ensure fair decisions on all of these major issues and more for years to come.
In both Michigan and North Carolina, the Supreme Court is poised to determine the future of a vast array of disputes, and that includes gerrymandering. Both states have congressional maps that are just as bad as Pennsylvania’s was: In Michigan, Republicans hold nine congressional districts while Democrats hold just five, and in North Carolina, the margin is 10-to-three in favor of the GOP.
There’s no reason to think that the conservatives on the Supreme Court in either Michigan or North Carolina have any interest in following Pennsylvania’s lead and rectifying this injustice.
But by electing progressives like Sam Bagenstos and Anita Earls, we can encourage a brand of justice that helps move these states forward toward greater fairness, with deeper consideration for the less fortunate.
Contribute $3 today to help elect Sam Bagenstos and Anita Earls—and strengthen progressive voices on two crucial state Supreme Courts!