Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesAn associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States grants plenary power to the president to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court.Supreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party".
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in , 9th Cir.)
United States SenateUpper house of the US CongressThe United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameralUnited States Congress; it is the upper house, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the Constitution to make and pass or defeat federal legislation.
Roberts CourtThe Roberts Court is the time since 2005 during which the Supreme Court of the United States has been led by John Roberts as Chief Justice. Roberts succeeded William Rehnquist as Chief Justice after Rehnquist's death. It has been considered to be the most conservative court since the Vinson Court (1946–1953), with landmark rulings falling along partisan lines and very close confirmation votes for most of its members.
Ronald ReaganPresident of the United States from 1981 to 1989Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an important figure in the American conservative movement. The period encompassing his presidency is known as the Reagan era.
Stanford UniversityLeland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and then-incumbent United States senator representing California) and his wife, Jane, in memory of their only child, Leland Jr, who died from typhoid at the age of 15.
Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California. The county seat of Sacramento County, it is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in the Sacramento Valley. It is the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, sixth-most populous city in the state, and 35th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 524,943 at the 2020 census.
Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. A moderate conservative, she was considered a swing vote.Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United States. Each class in the three-year JD program has approximately 560 students, which is among the largest law schools in the United States.
Gerald FordGerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. He assumed the presidency after the resignation of Richard Nixon, under whom he served as the 40th vice president from 1973 to 1974 after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. A member of the Republican Party, Ford previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973.
Swing voteVote potentially going to more than one candidate Part of the Politics seriesElections Basic type By-election Corporate Direct / Indirect Fixed-term Free and fair General Local Mid-term Plurality Primary Partisan Nonpartisan Proportional Recall Retention Sham Snap Sortition Two-round system Unfair Terminology Anonymous elector Apportionment Audits Competition Electoral boundary delimitation Crossover voting Electoral college Election law Election silence Gerrymandering Initiative Psephology Secret ballot Suffrage Right to stand for election Subseries Administration Political party Voting Electoral systems Lists Elections by country Close elections Most recent Next general elections National and local elections in 2026 Related Election security Electoral fraud Referendum (by country) Electoral reform Election science Paper candidate Politics portalvte A swing vote is a vote that is seen as potentially going to any one of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.