One of the most important decisions in casting your vote in November is probably being lost on most of the electorate.

The next President is poised to construct the makeup of the Supreme Court for years to come.

Some of the justices are getting a little long in the tooth.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, are already in their 80s and Stephen Breyer will be 78.

While we are living healthier and longer lives this make whatever court appointments the next President makes will be even more important to us all.

Is Confirmation Possible?

We currently have nine justices. The general makeup of the court is four liberal leaning jurists, four conservatives and one swing voter.

In the event that a President of one party presents a candidate with the opposite leanings confirmation might not be possible.

So what happens if there's no confirmation and the vote is 4-4 in the Supreme Court?

A Deadlocked Court

If there should happen to be an even number of judges deciding a ruling and the decisions result in a tie then the ruling of the lower courts prevail until a majority can either confirm or overturn it.

In some cases this would satisfy half the people that have an interest in that particular ruling.

If this were the case then Roe v. Wade and Citizen’s United or Obamacare might not be law today.

However, Democrat appointments dominate most of the lower courts of appeal. Our 9th Circuit is one of the most liberal and most overturned courts in the land.

This could have positive or negative ramifications for years to come. If might take lifetimes to undo some ideological decisions. The Supreme Court of 1850 decided blacks were property.

It took 100 plus years and Rosa Parks to change those laws.

Some Final Thoughts

A bad decision in the Supreme Court is not as easy to overturn. In some cases it might take a Constitutional Amendment to undue the damage.

Congress can just kick laws out and replace them but if a law goes to the Supreme Court a challenge is almost useless until a new court is appointed.

So my advice — vote early, and vote often. The people who make the rules should be making the rules to benefit all of us.

We get the laws we deserve by our selections.

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