Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing is difficult to grieve when her final wish was immediately disregarded by the U.S. Senate. She led by example that the Supreme Court belongs to no political party, but rather to the American people. Her legacy of being a principled defender of justice has been left for us to continue. The future of our country rests on this crucial process.

Demand that your Senators fight for a just and fair Supreme Court.

Yet some of our elected leaders jumped on the opportunity of a Justice’s death to show utter disregard for the proper political process to fill a seat on the high court. The people must retain the power to decide on the leaders who select our court, who defend our rights, and protect our future. The election is already underway and will conclude in less than six weeks—is it just and fair for this monumental decision to fall to those leaders currently being chosen by voters?

Our nation is reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, reckoning with our long and painful history with racism, and how to access the vote in a critical election year. But the Senate is refusing to consider legislative relief. Instead, they have abandoned this great responsibility to focus on expediting a process to ram through a politically opportune nominee for one of the most important jobs in the country. A full and fair vetting process is vital to determine the nominee’s qualifications and temperament, but it takes time and consideration. The Senate has previously shown that they are willing to disregard this duty by rubber-stamping the past two Supreme Court nominations. The Senate must prioritize the health and safety of the country over political power—conducting a rushed hearing process would harm our nation for generations.

We hold Justice Ginsburg’s memory as inspiration: continue the fight for gender equity and representation where decisions are made. This election year, we are elevating the voices of all people in the selection of all branches of their government. It is critical that the Senate honor the people’s part in the selection of our next Supreme Court Justice.