In recent years, state courts have been rare bright spots in the fight against gerrymandering, with voters using state constitutions to uphold their right to fair representation. Just last month, Alaska’s high court issued a landmark opinion declaring that discrimination in redistricting violates equal protection under its state constitution.

But this positive momentum saw a setback last week after a deeply troubling decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the anti-gerrymandering precedents it issued just last year. The ruling by the court’s new conservative majority opens the door for partisans to draw politically skewed and racially discriminatory maps. The shocking and unusual reversal makes clear that leaving state courts to single-handedly police gerrymandering is not the answer.

Since 2020, election officials have faced a wave of harassment fueled by disinformation. A new Brennan Center survey of election officials nationwide finds that many have left the field, and more than 1 in 10 is planning to quit before November 2024. The loss of experienced professionals will only compound the ongoing threats to our democracy. A new Brennan Center report offers concrete steps that all levels of government can take to safeguard our elections.

In a trial next month, young plaintiffs in Montana will ask a judge to enforce the state’s constitutional guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment.” It’s the first such trial under a state constitution, but it likely won’t be the last, as a growing number of states are adopting “Green Amendments” with similar language. These provisions stand to fill the gap left by federal courts and permit more state lawsuits to address climate change.

President Biden has failed to fulfill a campaign pledge to end the Department of Homeland Security’s long-criticized grant program to prevent terrorism and “targeted violence.” Instead, his administration gave it a new name and a supposed new focus on countering violent white supremacy. A new Brennan Center analysis, however, finds the program remains as biased and ineffective as ever. It’s high time for DHS to abandon it altogether.

There were some telling absences at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Tuesday hearing on Supreme Court ethics: the justices themselves. Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify, instead sending a statement outlining the Court’s ethics principles and practices. All nine justices signed the statement, but it remains nonbinding. In light of the latest scandal surrounding Clarence Thomas’s ties to a billionaire Republican megadonor, promises are clearly not enough. The Supreme Court cannot police itself. Congress can and should step in.