There are currently 8 justices on the Supreme Court. The oldest ones are as follows:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg – age 83 (liberal)
Anthony Kennedy – age 80 (seen as a swing vote between the conservative and liberal wings of the Supreme Court)
Steven Beyer – age 78 (liberal)
Of course, the 9th seat, currently vacant, was held by Antonin Scalia who was a conservative.
Of the remaining five on the court, the conservatives include Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Liberals include Sonya Sotomayer and Elena Kagan.
So this we know for sure, the new president will choose a replacement for conservative Scalia. We don’t know if there will be any other vacancies, but it is not unreasonable to surmise that there could be anywhere from 1-3 additional appointments which the next president will make. So that means, the next president could impact anywhere from 11% to 44% of the make-up of the Supreme Court.
The court has been so evenly divided in recent years that such a swing could help re-shape the court for the next generation. The current 4-3 liberal advantage (with Kennedy as a swing vote) could increase with a Clinton presidency. A Trump presidency would most likely keep the court in the conservative-leaning 5-4 range.
Now, of course, much of this also depends on the make-up of the Senate which has to approve the president’s appointments. The Republicans currently hold on to power, but it remains to be seen if the Democrats could grab control back from the G.O.P. this November. It might be a long shot, but not out of the question.
So regardless what a voter thinks of Clinton or Trump’s politics and deftness of handing the executive branch, the prospect of changes to the Supreme Court should be a powerful motivator for each side of the political spectrum. Long term societal changes typically come from Supreme Court decisions and the next generation of judges will greatly impact the nation.
I would suggest that voters need to strongly consider the future of the Supreme Court in the hands of the next president. The ideologies between Clinton and Trump in this regard are complete opposites. Trump has promised to choose conservative nominees. Clinton will choose liberal nominees. Depending on your personal political philosophy, this should weigh heavily on your mind as you decide who to vote for this November.
Author Mark W Sasse 
3 responses to “Is the 2016 Election really about the Supreme Court?”
Good point. The circuit courts also have tremendous power and those judges are also appointed by the president. The weaker congress becomes, the more powerful the courts become as they deal with the constitutionality of executive orders and the many, many new regulations (essentially laws) flowing out of Federal departments (energy, health, land management, education etc) that often have an immediate impact on citizens. In theory, the Supreme court should be like a thermometer, a completely non-political tool applied to test for constitutionality- that’s it. In practice, it has become one more politically contaminated branch of this sick government tree. Very, very sad and scary.
You are right. An impotent Congress strengthens the Executive branch. We are supposed to have those checks and balances for a reason, but it seems a little out of whack at the present time.
It sure does… 😐