Let the People Have a Voice: No Action on President Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee Until After the Election

The U.S. Senate should not take any action on President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia until after the presidential election.

We are in the middle of a critical election and it’s important that Americans have a voice in filling the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. We continue to urge the U.S. Senate to delay any confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court nominee until the presidential election is concluded and a new President is in office.

While the Constitution assigns to the President the role of naming a nominee to the high Court, it vests in the Senate a co-equal role in this vital process: No nominee may be confirmed without the Senate’s ‘advice and consent.’  It is the Senate that has the constitutional right to act – or take no action at all – on a President’s nominee.

We call on the Senate to follow through on its promise – no confirmation proceedings until after the election. It’s the correct course of action based soundly on constitutional principles, historic precedent, and prudence.

Not since the 1880s has the President of one party nominated and the Senate of an opposing party confirmed a Supreme Court justice in a presidential election year. Even this lone example occurred when the President, Grover Cleveland, was eligible for reelection.

In fact, there have been 25 occasions on which a nomination to the Supreme Court has failed without receiving a vote on the Senate floor.

Many of President Obama’s political allies have previously acknowledged the fact that the American people deserve a voice in selecting a Supreme Court justice, especially in an election year.  Then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden has said that when a vacancy on the Supreme Court arises in a presidential election year, “the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over.”

We could not agree more and are thankful that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has made it clear that the committee will not hold hearings during this election year.

This issue is one of principle. It is not about the person, but rather, about the process.

The American people understand this. We have heard from more than 175,000 Americans urging the Senate to put-off any confirmation proceedings until after the election.

We are mobilizing all of our resources in defense of the Constitution, the Senate’s critical role in this process, and the voice of the American people.

Take action with us by adding your name to our petition below.