The platform language stops well short of saying what those changes should be. But backers of the plank, which was added during deliberations earlier this week, said the broad statement represents a significant advance toward beginning a conversation among Democrats about how to respond to the substantial imprint that President Trump and his conservative allies have made on the federal bench.

“I think it is a major turning point and a very important step,” said Pete Buttigieg, the former Democratic presidential contender who was a strong proponent of reconfiguring the Supreme Court during the primary campaign. “This shows the Democratic Party believes we need to undertake these kinds of reforms.”…

“I think it is a long overdue conversation about how we need to think about decades of court-capture by the Republicans and the right,” said Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the abortion-rights group, and a member of the platform committee who submitted the court language as part of a package of additions. She noted that more than a dozen cases threatening abortion rights were moving through the courts.