It’s clear Covid-19 has changed the face of voting — the challenge now is in how to ensure our election this year remains fair, safe, and secure for all voters. So far the funds appropriated by Congress to help states prepare their voting systems for November is a start but isn’t enough, per our calculations, for the road ahead. Our new report considers Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — each of which has divergent needs — to determine the funding needed. The report is co-authored by the Brennan Center, R Street Institute, Alliance for Securing Democracy, and Pitt Cyber.

Overcrowding is common in prisons and jails, where people must share small cells with others. Basic hygiene is a challenge, and healthcare limited. In short, in prison and jail it can be hard to escape viral spread. We’re seeing thousands of people in custody as well as staff members become infected during this pandemic. As of April 29, 31 people have died in federal prison facilities from Covid-19 and there have been many more deaths in state and local prisons and jails around the country.

It’s crucial that officials immediately release as many people as possible without risking public safety. The Brennan Center recommends elderly and sick people and those incarcerated for parole violations should be released or recommended for release under compassionate release provisions or another authority. Barring that, prison officials should use their discretion to transfer people to community corrections options. Read more about why it's crucial to reduce jail and prison populations right now.

The Brennan Center spoke with Thomas Abt, author and National Council on Criminal Justice Senior fellow, about how a relentless focus on violence prevention is key to criminal justice reform. In fact, he suggests, it must come first. Abt argues murders and other violence can be curbed by focusing on where violence is concentrated, using both suppression and prevention. And it’s vital that “hot spot” policing and other steps don’t turn into abusive policies that betray community trust. In this interview, Abt describes his step-by-step strategy to address and interrupt urban violence.

Facebook’s community standards policies let the social media platform police all content and remove false news. Yet these terms don’t apply to politicians. Seven in ten voters use Facebook and will likely wade through hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of political ads. And if those ads are from politicians, then they can be balderdash all the way down. But it's not too late for Facebook to do the right thing for the 2020 election.

How to safeguard our elections from Covid-19? The Brennan Center’s plan: giving everyone the option to vote by mail or vote safely in-person. When states fail to act, city and county governments can take the lead, and some of them are doing it already. For example, Philadelphia city commissioners voted this month to provide prepaid postage for mail-in ballots for the June state primary, writes fellow Zachary Roth.

Saving the Vote in 2020: Elections and the Coronavirus
Monday, May 4 | 12:00 p.m. ET | This is a virtual event.
Join us for a special briefing on this urgent topic. In a virtual discussion moderated by Brennan Center President Michael Waldman, leading election experts Wendy Weiser, Larry Norden, and Myrna Pérez will discuss how to ensure election integrity, update you on the fight in Congress, and point to what states and citizens must do next. RSVP today.