Even under the best of circumstances, Black and Latino Americans face longer wait times on Election Day than white voters. Add a pandemic to the mix, and you could see a repeat of Wisconsin’s April primary all across the nation. Before the vote, Milwaukee, the most diverse city in a largely white state, reduced its polling places from 180 to just 5. The result: snaking lines of voters, often of color, waiting hours to vote in full PPE.

To avoid this scenario in November, states and localities must establish coronavirus-safe polling places that are designed, equipped, staffed, and available in enough numbers to accommodate people — particularly voters of color — who rely on polling places to cast their vote. “In the past, long wait times were disruptive and disenfranchising,” writes Myrna Pérez in the report’s foreword. “In the middle of a pandemic, they could also be deadly.” // Read More

After taking crucial steps to improve election security, state and local election officials now face the additional challenge of ensuring secure and safe elections in the midst of a pandemic. The changes necessary, if not properly managed, could create new targets for those interested in disrupting American elections through cyberattacks. This new report by the Brennan Center’s election security team seeks to assist officials as they revise their cyber resiliency plans in light of Covid-19. // Read More

The Trump administration’s longstanding hostility to science has been especially evident in the realm of environmental policy. The EPA has used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to stop enforcing environmental laws, even as new research shows that current allowable levels of particulate matter pollution are too high. “Because of large racial inequities in housing and wealth, Black and Latino communities are more likely to be exposed to high concentrations of these particles than white people,” writes Gareth Fowler. “And evidence suggests that high exposure to particulate matter and other air pollutants increases mortality from Covid-19, which may be a factor in the disproportionately high death rate in communities of color in the United States.” // Read More

We can see already in the massive nationwide protests that have taken place since George Floyd was killed by police that something truly different is happening on our streets. The protesters don’t want piecemeal reforms. Instead, as Brennan Center Fellow Andrew Cohen writes, they want “wholesale changes that would transform policing in America: the ‘abolition’ of police departments as we know them and the ‘defunding’ or dismantling of police forces so they can be reimagined as avatars of public safety rather than as oppressors.” // Read More

As states begin reopening businesses with social distancing measures in place, people in prisons continue to report dire conditions. Prisoners can’t stay apart from one another. They use the same bathrooms and phones, eat together, share crowded cells and dorms, and lack basic hygiene supplies.“Even though places are reopening … it’s really important not to forget people behind bars,” Lauren-Brooke Eisen tells the Appeal. “Cases rise day after day. It’s virulent behind bars.” // The Appeal

The government’s actions in the past week reflect entrenched, longstanding problems in American policing. Law enforcement’s response to dissent follows a pattern, with police cracking down on movements for racial, social, and environmental justice, while giving violent white nationalists who beat people in the street a free pass. “We already see that there is this dynamic where the police officers view people who protest police violence as enemies they can use further violence against,” Brennan Center Fellow Michael German tells Intercept. “Particularly in protests, it’s not just that the police want to arrest somebody who’s a problem. They want to mete out punishment.” // The Intercept

As protests continue across the country, it’s important that protesters know how to protect themselves from electronic surveillance. Ángel Díaz shares tips for keeping data safe. // Watch

Twitter, Reddit, and a trade association representing over 40 major internet companies told a federal court last week that the State Department’s policy requiring visa applicants to register their social media handles violates the First Amendment. Their friend-of-the-court brief comes in a lawsuit filed by the Brennan Center, Knight First Amendment Institute, and the law firm Simpson Thacher on behalf of the Doc Society and the International Documentary Association. “The suit argues that the registration requirement gives their members and partners an unacceptable choice: be careful and possibly limit what they share on social media — or be denied entry to the United States,” writes Harsha Panduranga. // Read More

• VIRTUAL EVENT: Why Fixing Democracy Is Easier Than You Think with David Litt and Valerie Jarrett
  Tuesday, June 16 | 6:00–7:00 p.m. EDT | RSVP Today
  David Litt, ex-Obama speechwriter and head writer/producer for the DC office of Funny or Die, will be joined by his former White House boss, Valerie Jarrett, to discuss his new book, Democracy is One Book or Less — an “unexpectedly hilarious” look at the bold changes that are within our grasp, and how to restore the balance of power in this country before it’s too late.
• The New York City Council will vote on the POST Act, a police surveillance reform bill. “In a time where New Yorkers are coming together to protest the over-policing of communities of color, it’s essential that we have oversight and accountability over surveillance tools to prevent an era of digital stop-and-frisk,” says Ángel Díaz. // Read More

• Edgardo Cortés on the systems and equipment needed for a safe election // CBS News
• Michael German on politicians and law enforcement citing outside agitators at protests to justify greater police violence // AP
• Elizabeth Goitein on the dangers of presidential emergency powers // ABC News
• Elizabeth Howard on the challenges election officials faced during last week’s primaries // Washington Post
• Faiza Patel on Trump’s attempts to connect the antifa movement with terrorism // Snopes
• Myrna Pérez on North Carolina’s absentee voting bill // NC Public Radio
• Dan Weiner on proxy voting // Roll Call