Friend,

Tonight, Republicans are set to confirm right-wing zealot Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, putting our healthcare access, voting rights, reproductive rights, and other essential rights and protections at risk.

Since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing just over one month ago, the Trump administration and the Republican Senate have been rushing this process in an illegitimate power grab.

They don’t care about us—they just care about entrenching their own (minority) power. The right-wing is stealing a hugely important court seat just a week before Election Day, while tens of millions of Americans are already casting ballots—because they know that most of us want to strengthen, not weaken, our constitutional rights. That’s why we have to fight for our rights and our democracy by increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court.

Sign now if you agree: If Democrats win this election, we must expand the court by increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.

Remember: Trump said explicitly that Republicans can’t win if everyone votes. They know their ideas are unpopular. This is just the latest, egregious way the GOP is manipulating our institutions to block democracy and ensure the continued power of the white conservative minority.

As Ezra Klein laid out: The right-wing “is not able to win elections through popular vote majorities” so they’ve packed federal courts for decades to make “decisions that make it easier for the GOP to win power without winning majorities by greenlighting gerrymandering, allowing unlimited amounts of money into politics, gutting public-sector unions, permitting a wide range of voter suppression” and more.

We can’t let this happen.

We’ve got a growing squad in Congress that represents the American people more than ever before. Together with the grassroots, we’re going to address injustice, strengthen and expand our rights, fight money in politics, and build our progressive movement.

But we’ll be hampered by the undemocratic, ultra-conservative Supreme Court… unless we take action now.

Sign now if you agree: To ensure democracy and protect our rights, we must expand the court by increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.

If we win big in 8 days, we can use our power to restore democracy to the courts.

So we’re asking you to send a message not only by signing our petition, but also by voting between now and November 3rd. We can only take action to expand the courts if we’ve won this election.

Here’s a photo from a recent virtual rally, with my trusty sign proclaiming “Vote & tell them Ruth sent you”:

We’ve got to let the people have a say in who can make decisions on our behalf. That’s the bare minimum of democracy. That’s why we must vote, and if we win, we must make real the promises of democracy, including expanding the Supreme Court.

Remember: The court is why we have Citizens United and unlimited money in politics. The court’s decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act has opened up so much voter suppression in recent years. But we’ve also seen incredible breakthroughs from the Supreme Court to expand our rights, including marriage equality and LGTBQ+ rights in the workplace. What they decide, good or bad, has sweeping effects on us all.

But we are the ones who give the Supreme Court power. Together, we have the power to shape our future. Whatever we dream up, we can make politically possible.

Even though our country hasn’t changed the size of the Supreme Court in a long time, there’s nothing in the Constitution that dictates the size of the court. In fact, to protect our constitutional rights, we must expand the court.

We know that Amy Coney Barrett will rule against us and our rights, based on her past decisions and statements:

• She once ruled that breathing is not a constitutional right, so that a police officer wouldn’t be held responsible for a Black teenager’s death.
• She wrote that an employee being called a racist derogatory term by their manager doesn’t constitute a hostile work environment.
• She’s argued against believing sexual assault victims.

• She doesn’t believe in climate change. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, she referred to it in a recent hearing as a “very contentious matter of public debate.”

• She refrained from saying whether separating a child from their parents is wrong. Same re: whether the president should commit to a peaceful transfer of power or not.

• She has praised Justice Scalia’s approach to the Affordable Care Act, which he found unconstitutional. If the court strikes down the ACA, over 20 million Americans will lose their health coverage.
• She’s said that she might allow states to pass more restrictions on abortion, if on the Supreme Court.

This is frightening. Our rights and our lives are at stake if we don’t act to change the court.

But together, we have the power to correct injustices in our institutions and make our government work for all of us.

Sign now: If Democrats win this election, Congress must expand the Supreme Court by increasing the number of justices.

Together, let’s make sure we win this election by voting and encouraging your loved ones to vote!

In solidarity,

Rashida