It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.
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Photo by Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.
GET OUT YOUR CALENDARS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent
Folks, it’s time to cut straight to the point.
The Final-Stretch-Of-2024 calendar is upon us. Get out your phones, tables, wall calendars and planners for a handy look. We are focusing on major court dates, swing states and two congressional days of note.
This month
* Sept. 5: Trump Jan. 6 case hearing. A judge is set to have a status hearing ([link removed]) after special counsel Jack Smith filed new charges ([link removed]) against Trump in the 2020 election fraud case. This was in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling ([link removed]) that declared presidents had at least presumptive immunity for all official acts, and sent the issue back to lower courts to determine which part of this case could move forward.
* Sept. 6: Absentee voting begins in North Carolina. The Tarheel State will begin to send out requested absentee ballots ([link removed]) Friday, making that the first possible day that any voter can mark down their choice and cast their vote (in this case by mailing or turning in the form).
* Sept. 9: Congress returns to Washington.
* Sept. 10: Harris and Trump debate. ABC is moderating the Philadelphia event. Here’s a look at the rules in place. ([link removed])
* Sept. 16: In-person absentee voting begins in Pennsylvania.
* Sept. 18: Trump sentencing in hush money case. The former president is scheduled to be sentenced ([link removed]) in New York City for his 34 felony convictions in the city’s hush money and business fraud case. His attorneys have asked for a delay. ([link removed])
* Sept. 19: Absentee ballots go out in Wisconsin. ([link removed])
* Sept. 20: Early in-person voting begins in Virginia ([link removed]) and Minnesota. ([link removed])
* Sept. 26: Absentee ballots go out in Michigan. ([link removed])
* Sept. 30: Shutdown deadline. Congress and the White House must pass new government funding by this day or there will be a shutdown.
October
* Oct. 1: VP debate. Vice presidential nominees Tim Walz and JD Vance are set to debate. ([link removed]) CBS will moderate.
* Oct. 7: Supreme Court starts a new session.
* Oct. 9: Early voting begins in Arizona. ([link removed])
* Oct. 15: Early in-person voting begins in Georgia. ([link removed])
* Oct 17: Early in-person voting begins in North Carolina. ([link removed])
* Oct 19: Early voting begins in Nevada. ([link removed])
* Oct. 22: Early voting begins in Wisconsin ([link removed]) . ([link removed])
* Oct. 26: Early voting begins in Michigan. ([link removed])
November
* Nov. 5 aka Election Day. The end of voting.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Watch: How union workers in battleground states could swing the election. ([link removed])
* One Big Question: How is Donald Trump making inroads with union members? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter discuss. ([link removed])
* A Closer Look: PolitiFact researched the latest warnings ([link removed]) from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump.
* Perspectives: New York Times columnist David Brooks and Boston Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr on Trump’s attempts to change the narrative on abortion access. ([link removed])
JUSTICE BROWN JACKSON ON TERM LIMITS
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Photo by Jeenah Moon for PBS News
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital
Supreme Court justices serve for life ([link removed]) , under the current interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
There’s been a greater push to reform the nation’s highest court in recent years, as questions grew about ethics and some of the court’s conservative justices, including Clarence Thomas.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who joined the court in June 2022, said the debate over term limits for Supreme Court justices has been happening since the start of the republic, and people in our democracy are engaging with this debate right now.
“Alexander Hamilton debated the Anti-Federalists as to whether or not judges should have lifetime appointments, and the constitutional process was such that he won that debate. ([link removed]) And that's what we have now in our system,” she told PBS News’ Geoff Bennett. ([link removed]) “So it's a political process to make a determination as to whether or not that should be changed.”
When the nine justices decided to bind themselves to a new code of ethics last year, experts pointed out how toothless the move was ([link removed]) , especially with no enforcement mechanism to hold any individual justice accountable.
President Joe Biden urged for the adoption of an 18-year-term limit for justices as one of three proposals earlier this year to reform the nation’s highest court, though there are shortcomings and limited pathways ([link removed]) for each one.
“I'm going to let the political process play out,” Brown Jackson told PBS News when asked about the proposal. “It'll be interesting to see what we decide.”
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Photo by Jeenah Moon for PBS News
Since joining the bench, Justice Brown Jackson wrote a series of pointed dissents that challenge the conservative supermajority’s rulings in major cases. That includes a 29-page dissent ([link removed]) that sharply criticized the court’s decision on affirmative action.
When she writes a dissent, who does she envision as the audience? The American public? Her fellow justices? Posterity?
“All of the above,” she said.
“Obviously you have not been able to persuade your colleagues about your view of the issue. So, to some extent, you are writing for the public so that they can understand the debate that the justices have had about the issue.”
Then you hope to be writing for posterity, she added, “because you would hope that eventually your point of view would prevail.”
Watch the full interview online here. ([link removed])
#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital
No Supreme Court justices are featured on U.S. currency today. But that’s not always been the case.
The portraits of two justices have been printed on bills. John Marshall appeared on the $500 bill. ([link removed]) Another justice was on a much more valuable bill.
Our question: Which Supreme Court justice was once depicted on the $10,000 bill?
Send your answers to
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: Pennsylvania has been the birthplace to two U.S. presidents. Joe Biden is one, who was the other?
The answer: James Buchanan. ([link removed]) The 15th U.S. president was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to our winners: Carmen McCoy and Sarah Bornstein!
And with folks firmly back from vacation, we can now announce the previous week’s winners — Anne Pokras and Mary Hobein — for correctly guessing that Rutherford B. Hayes was the most recent president whose last name ended in S.
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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