‘Supreme Court Voter’ Project Adds New Board Members and Unveils New Ad

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August 21, 2020

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‘SUPREME COURT VOTER’ PROJECT ADDS NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND UNVEILS NEW AD

Additions Follow Democratic Party Platform Adopting Expansive Section on Courts and Polling Showing Democrats Now Place More Importance on Supreme Court Than GOP

WASHINGTON, DC — On Friday, the Supreme Court Voter project announced the addition of four progressive leaders to its board of advisors and a new ad highlighting the dangers of the Trump-McConnell takeover of the courts.

Supreme Court Voter is a previously announced 501c4 project dedicated to educating progressives about the disastrous impact of Donald Trump’s judicial appointments through a multi-million ad campaign and series of grassroots trainings in key states.

The new advisory board members are:

  • Marc Elias, Partner and Firmwide Chair of Political Law Practice, Perkins Cole
  • Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director, Indivisible
  • Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director, 51 for 51
  • Faiz Shakir, Progressive Strategist and former Bernie Sanders campaign manager

The new ad released Friday uses video of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying “we’re changing the federal courts forever” to highlight the dangerous consequences of confirming more Trump judges. It says: “It’s the Trump McConnell plan to pack the courts with judges who will put party politics over the law, end the Affordable Care Act, abolish abortion rights, allow more pollution, make it harder to vote. Because with more justices like Brett Kavnaugh, these guys will dominate the Supreme Court forever. The future of the Supreme Court is on the line.”

The ad can be viewed here. Supreme Court Voter also purchased ad time during Thursday night’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention on CNN and MSNBC.

The announcement follows signs that Democrats and progressives are committing to fight back against Trump’s politicization of the courts. The new Democratic Party platform ratified during the convention calls for structural reform of the federal courts and includes five-times as large a section dedicated to the future of the courts as did the 2016 Democratic Party platform. Sen. Charles Schumer used his remarks to the Convention on Tuesday night to vow that a Democratic Senate would seek to “restore the Supreme Court.” Earlier this month, new polling from Morning Consult revealed that the Supreme Court is becoming more important for Democrats, who are now more likely than Republicans to say the Court is a ‘very important’ factor in voting choice.

Read the full list of the Supreme Court Voter project’s Advisory board members here and below:

  • Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy
  • Ady Barkan, Co-Founder of Be a Hero
  • Marc Elias, Partner and Firmwide Chair of Political Law Practice, Perkins Cole
  • Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, physician and progressive activist
  • Brian Fallon, Executive Director of Demand Justice
  • Anna Galland, former Executive Director of MoveOn
  • Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of National Women’s Law Center
  • Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America
  • María Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino
  • Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director, Indivisible
  • Jen Psaki, former White House Communications Director
  • Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director, 51 for 51
  • Maya Rupert, Progressive Strategist and Writer
  • Jess Morales Rocketto, Executive Director of Care in Action and Civic Engagement Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
  • Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director of Justice Democrats
  • Faiz Shakir, Progressive Strategist
  • Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
  • Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers

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