ACS Releases Detailed Senate Roll Call Data on President Biden’s Appointed Judges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

 Washington, DC – The American Constitution Society today unveiled a new feature on its website that allows the public to see how Senators voted on each of President Biden’s appointed judges. To date, 140 Biden-nominated Article III judges have been confirmed by the Senate.

With ACS’s new feature, roll call data is broken down by Senator, enabling users to look up how their Senators voted as a total and by judicial nominee. The roll call data will be regularly updated as more judges are confirmed. This new feature adds to ACS’s already robust Judicial Nominations and Diversity on the Federal Bench data.

An analysis of the Senate roll call data shows that:

• 89 percent of President Biden’s judges were confirmed with bipartisan votes. (124 of 140)

“The confirmation of life-tenured judges is one of the most impactful and lasting things that the Senate can do in this divided Congress,” said ACS President Russ Feingold. “It is encouraging that 89 percent of President Biden’s diverse, qualified judicial nominees who are committed to vindicating our fundamental freedoms and upholding the rule of law have been confirmed with bipartisan support. As the Senate returns to session, we urge them to reprioritize judicial confirmations in pursuit of filling as many judicial vacancies as possible before the end of this Congress.”

The Biden administration also has made strides in increasing racial diversity in the courts, with over 67 percent of President Biden’s confirmed judges being women and nearly 67 percent being people of color. An analysis of the roll call data shows that:

• 84 percent of President Biden’s confirmed judges who are people of color received bipartisan support. (77 of 92)
• 80 percent of President Biden’s confirmed judges who are women of color received bipartisan support. (48 of 60)

“How a Senator votes on diverse, qualified judges is an important consideration for constituents,” said ACS Vice President for Strategic Engagement Zack Gima. “We believe it is important that voters be able to readily see how their Senators voted on each of President Biden’s judicial nominees. With such little legislation moving in this divided Congress, how a Senator voted on confirming federal judges is one indicator of a Senator’s commitment to vindicating our fundamental freedoms, to upholding the rule of law, and to preserving our democracy.”

Access ACS’s new Senate roll call data here.

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
The American Constitution Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others, our mission is to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and redress the founding failures of our Constitution and enduring inequities in our laws in pursuit of realized equality. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org or on Twitter @acslaw.