And it was 27 days before the election. And it was 27 days before the election. One-third of U.S. presidents appointed Supreme Court justices during election years. That’s because the Senate was out of session until December of that election year, so Lincoln was forced to wait to nominate a successor for Taney. “There have been 29 vacancies on the Supreme Court during presidential election years from George Washington to Barack Obama, and the presidents have nominated in all 29 cases,” Pence said, failing to mention his party refused to vote on Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. In 1863, Lincoln had defied the ruling with the Emancipation Proclamation, and since then had engineered the inclusion of a plank in his party’s election-year platform urging ratification of a constitutional amendment ending slavery everywhere, including the areas not covered by his landmark executive order. In the wake of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, questions have arisen about whether there is a standard practice of not nominating and confirming Supreme Court Justices during a presidential election year. Election-year Supreme Court blockbusters: A look back at history Here are some landmark, presidential election-year legal disputes handled by the Supreme Court So, Abraham Lincoln, in 1864, 27 days before the election, Chief Justice Roger Taney passed away. The election is 45 days away. Salmon P. Chase was nominated to replace Taney on Dec. 6, 1864, and was confirmed by the Senate nine days later on Dec. 15, 1864, according to the Supreme Court Historical Society. Harris said that Lincoln was up for reelection when the chief justice, Roger Taney, died on Oct. 12, 1864, which was just 27 days before the election. "In 1864," she said. Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection, and it was 27 days before the election, and a seat became open on the United States Supreme Court," Harris said. But Honest Abe said, 'It’s not the right thing to do. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE I f a Supreme Court vacancy opens up between now and the end of the year, Republicans should fill it. "Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection. Besides considering national figures whose views are well-known, they consider others who are less recognized. Now he is rushing to deliver President Trump’s third justice. With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, Republicans seem inclined to take Vice President Biden's 1992 advice: Don't choose a Supreme Court justice in an election year. According to Senate and Supreme Court records, there have been only 16 vacancies of a Supreme Court seat, including Ginsburg's, that happened before Election Day during an election year. A handful were, like Obama, not running for reelection. Unknown. And a seat became open on the United States Supreme Court. Supreme Court nominations have taken around 70 days to move through the Senate, and the last, for Brett Kavanaugh, took longer. • Lincoln was faced with a Supreme Court vacancy 27 days before Election Day in 1864, when his party controlled the Senate. But, it could change the way elections are run if the court reestablishes that only state legislatures can decide how elections are run in their state. Reporting. If a Supreme Court vacancy opens up between now and the end of the year, Republicans should fill it. So, suddenly there was a vacancy 27 days before the election. Three presidents who appointed Supreme Court justices in an election year (Hoover, Taft and B. Harrison) were running for reelection but ultimately lost. by Steve Byas And it was 27 days before the election. Rating . A Supreme Court seat opened up in the final month before election day and Lincoln didn't nominate anyone for his party to confirm until December, after he had won re-election… Republican group targets ‘hypocrite’ Mitch McConnell for turnabout on Supreme Court nominations during election season ‘GOP senator, thy name is hypocrite’ Chris Riotta. This would stop governors, SOSs, and AGs from unilaterally setting election laws like was done in 2020. Claim: Abraham Lincoln declined to make a Supreme Court nomination just before the 1864 election because he felt the "American people deserve to make the decision." "Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection. Before the then next Presidential election, the law case came to, and was argued in the Supreme Court of the United States; but the decision of it was deferred until after the election. Harris is correct that when Roger Taney died in October 1864, Abraham Lincoln deferred a Supreme Court appointment until after election so that next President, with a new mandate, could do it. Now he’s changed his mind about that and is pushing for a nominee. "Honest Abe said it's not the right thing to do. Abraham Lincoln’s party was in charge not only of the White House but the Senate. Upon the election of a new President, incoming White House staff prepare profiles of possible candidates for the Supreme Court, considering not only judges but also politicians and other individuals whom they consider appropriate for the role. The Supreme Court was a very central issue in both the 2016 presidential election, and the 2018 midterm elections—where, by the way, I didn't run," he continued. Throughout history, presidents have nominated Supreme Court candidates regardless of whether it was an election year, including Brandeis, whose nomination was confirmed in June 1916. Senator Lindsey Graham said he would refuse to confirm a Republican’s Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year. Roger Taney, by the way, had been the author of the infamous Dred Scott decision, an abominable decision of the Supreme Court. Eight years later, a Supreme Court vacancy came open 159 days before Election Day, but President James Buchanan waited until February 5, 1861 to nominate Jeremiah Black to fill the seat. Aside from genuine lame ducks, one-third of U.S. presidents appointed justices during presidential election years. Abraham Lincoln’s party was in charge not only of the White House but the Senate. It is said to hold that judicial nominations to lower courts – and not the Supreme Court – should slow down after June, or March, of a presidential election year. Following is a list of all Article III United States federal judges appointed by President Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. And a seat became open on the United States Supreme Court. 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