Judges Shape So Much of Our Lives and Freedoms. This November, They May Be on Your Ballot
By: Yaheiry Mora, Political Director
When voters in many states head to the polls this election season, they won’t just vote for President, Members of Congress, and local representatives. In many states, voters also elect justices to serve on their state supreme courts—the highest courts in each state. Why is this noteworthy? Over 95 percent of legal cases are handled at the state level, touching on numerous issues that significantly impact our fundamental rights, public health, and the environment. Yet despite their power over our lives, state supreme court races don’t receive the same amount of attention as other races at the top of the ballot. It is critical that we don’t leave this tremendous power in the wrong hands.
That’s why Earthjustice Action is getting involved. This election season, we’re working across Montana, Michigan, and Ohio to educate voters on the importance of state supreme court elections and urge them to elect independent and fair-minded justices to their state benches.
While some may never set foot in a courtroom, our judiciary matters deeply in our daily lives. Voting for state supreme court justices who will protect our rights, enforce our environmental laws, and hold corporate polluters accountable is another way to make our voices heard.
Courts have always played a critical role in our democracy, both upholding the rule of law and being a place where every day Americans can seek equal justice. However, many of us, including those who care about clean air, clean water, and other environmental and public health protections, have failed to prioritize who sits on the bench in state and federal courts. Now, the rights that generations before us fought so hard to win continue to be rolled back in the courts. Extremist forces, from polluting industries to other economically and politically powerful entities, have worked for decades to elect and confirm judges that do the bidding of the few at the expense of the many. The scales of justice are now seriously unbalanced and require our urgent response.
We need look no further than the decisions the radical United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) majority handed down in the last few years. They are taking a wrecking ball to our rights, our environmental protections, and even our democracy and civil rights. Work is underway to balance the federal courts, but this will take time.
While state courts have always played a critical role in protecting our environment and our rights, we need them today more than ever. For example, even though SCOTUS gutted protections for wetlands in its 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision under the federal Clean Water Act, state Supreme Courts can hear cases that apply state laws that can restore some of these critical protections – and they are. This year, Colorado was the first state to adopt new legislation (HB 1379) to protect its wetlands and perineal streams following SCOTUS’s damaging ruling. State Supreme Courts are the public’s backstop protection for so many of our protections.
We now know with certainty that having independent, experienced state Supreme Court justices on the bench is necessary. It’s about having state Justices who uphold sound agency science and expertise in implementing our public protection laws. It’s about having state Justices who treat every litigant fairly. And, it’s about having Justices who understand how pollution impacts communities of color and low-income communities who have long experienced its disproportionate impacts, not just a corporate polluter’s bottom line.
If you care about the environment, you must care about who sits on our courts. Because who sits on our courts isn’t just a rights issue, it’s a voting issue! When you head to the polls this November, check your ballot before to see if you have a judicial race in your state. There are over 80 state Supreme Court seats up this year! If so, do your research, and make sure to complete your entire ballot – not just the top – to ensure you have a voice that represents you on your state’s court.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
