As the November election draws closer, the Brennan Center is dedicating everything we have to protecting the vote. In this whatever-it-takes moment, we all know that our democracy faces its biggest crisis in decades.

The coronavirus pandemic poses a real threat to our elections, one made even larger by the president using it as a weapon to suppress the vote. This makes our work more difficult and endangers our most basic rights as Americans, but we’re doubling down. Can you give today to power our fight?

President Trump’s claims that voting by mail will lead to massive fraud and favor the Democratic party are completely untrue. In fact, undermining voter confidence in the system is a form of voter suppression. Millions of Americans have used mail ballots safely and securely for decades. It’s crucial that every voter has the opportunity to vote by mail this November.

The First Step Act is intended to do two things: cut unnecessarily long federal sentences and improve conditions in federal prison. More than a year after it was enacted, key parts of the law are working as promised, but other parts are not. The way the Justice Department has been handling prisoner releases during the coronavirus pandemic gives some insight into what’s going wrong. President Trump has bragged about signing the law, but simply signing it is not enough. He needs to see it through.

After years of Trump administration threats against the International Criminal Court, the president declared a national emergency this month so he could impose sanctions to intimidate the court out of pursuing investigations of Americans. The move is a gross abuse of emergency powers, undermines the rule of law, and weakens our country’s standing internationally. If there were a prize for actions that simultaneously affront both domestic and international law, this executive order would certainly be a contender.

Structural barriers to the ballot box have undermined voting rights for many of the most marginalized Americans, because voter suppression falls heavily on communities already burdened by policing, arrests, and felony convictions. Democracy means more than voting on Election Day — it means governance by the people. Protests and other forms of expression are means for the people to be heard, and this is doubly true when we consider the multitude of suppressive tactics used against the rights of voters of color.

In many states, those who have been most impacted by racism in the justice system are barred from voting because of unjust and discriminatory criminal disenfranchisement laws. But now, in Iowa and California, there are opportunities to fix that. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds committed last week to issuing an executive order that would restore voting rights to more than 60,000 Iowans with past convictions. This is a big deal — but we haven’t crossed the finish line just yet. And in California, a bipartisan state senate vote on Wednesday placed a constitutional amendment on November’s ballot that would restore voting rights to people on parole.

Fees and fines are collected by a complex web of jurisdictions, courts, and agencies, and no one knows how much is spent enforcing these court-imposed financial obligations. But, whatever resources are spent on criminal fee and fine collection, they come at the expense of meeting other critical community needs for education, housing, and health care. When courts and police departments prioritize collecting revenue over public safety, they are not working for the benefit of communities.

Pandemic Propaganda: A New Electoral Crisis
Thursday, July 9 | 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET | This is a virtual event.
How will the misinformation pandemic inflamed by the coronavirus crisis reshape the political landscape? And how might domestic and foreign actors weaponize rumors, conspiracy theories, and disinformation about Covid-19 against American voters in the lead-up to the November election? A distinguished panel will discuss measures that can address these challenges in the upcoming months and help ensure the 2020 election is free, fair, and safe. RSVP today.

PODCAST: Listen to Brennan Center Live’s newest episode, The Supreme Court’s Battle for an Unjust America.

What We’re Reading
Madiba Dennie, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, recommends Policing Has Failed: For Real Public Safety, We Need A Million Community-Driven Experiments, which examines possible ways in which diverting funds from the police to the people could increase safety and justice in our communities.