Last Thursday, President Trump suggested a postponement of the 2020 elections. Let’s be very clear: he doesn’t have the power to do that. Election dates are set by a federal law dating back to 1845, and no U.S. presidential election has ever been postponed. Not for the War of 1812. Nor the Civil War. Nor the Spanish flu or World War II. Harold Ekeh and I see Trump’s suggestion for what it is: an outrageous break with American faith in democracy that aims to undermine confidence in election results. // Washington Post

In late June, the Republican National Committee and the Trump reelection campaign filed a lawsuit to make it harder for Pennsylvanians to vote by mail, based on the false premise that mail voting “invites fraud and undermines the public’s confidence in the integrity of elections.” But on Monday, a federal judge granted a motion to intervene to Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future and the Sierra Club. In opposing the suit, the two groups, represented by the Brennan Center, argue that the RNC and Trump campaign seek to impose unnecessary burdens on Pennsylvanians’ ability to vote, particularly during a pandemic. // Read more

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended U.S. elections. As Congress considers a new coronavirus package over the next two weeks, it must allocate money that local officials can use to run elections safely and securely this fall. “What comes out of negotiations between the two chambers in the next few weeks may determine how secure our elections are from cyberattack this fall,” writes Larry Norden. // Slate

For the second time in less than a year, the Federal Election Commission has been rendered essentially dormant. A commissioner’s recent resignation leaves the FEC without a quorum heading into one of the most fraught and expensive general elections in U.S. history. Dan Weiner writes that Congress can help fix the agency with reforms that will enable the FEC to better fulfill its three most critical responsibilities: enforcing campaign finance laws already on the books, issuing new rules to clarify legal obligations, and providing guidance to candidates and other political actors. // Read More

Since 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have made common practice of showing up at state and local courthouses to arrest people appearing in court for reasons unrelated to immigration. But a bill passed by the New York Legislature would prohibit ICE from arresting anyone who is going to or leaving a court proceeding. Douglas Keith writes that New York and states with similar laws have forged a clear path that states and cities can follow to ensure everyone in their communities has safe access to justice. // Read More

While jails around the country have reduced their populations by close to 30 percent, state prison systems have largely focused on halting admissions and releasing only the most medically vulnerable, leading to negligible decreases in their populations. The result has been devastating. In just one California state prison, 19 people have died from the coronavirus. Texas has reported 107 total deaths in the state criminal justice system. “Refusing to take steps to reduce prison populations is negligent at best and active obstruction at worst,” write Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Ruth Sangree. // Read More

Even before the Department of Homeland Security deployed its military-styled law enforcement personnel into the streets of Portland, more robust congressional oversight of the department was long overdue. In the 18 years since its creation, DHS has ballooned, with a $50 billion budget and a workforce of more than 240,000 employees. It’s the country’s largest law enforcement agency, and oversight and accountability of this massive department have lagged far behind. Elizabeth Goitein writes that Congress should use the appropriations cycle “to confront a department run amok” and demand reform before approving another DHS budget. // Read More

Using undercover police in connection with protests and protest movements further erodes trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Americans should feel free to protest without fear of surreptitious law enforcement monitoring. At a minimum, there should be more transparency and accountability accompanying the use of undercover police in protests. But a broader solution, Elizabeth Goitein and Sahil Singhvi write, would be to simply prohibit plainclothes police from attending protests. // Read More

• Ángel Díaz on how police use surveillance technology // Document Journal
• Elizabeth Goitein on arrested protesters barred from attending demonstrations pending their trials // NPR
• Elizabeth Howard on the need for more federal funds for the election // The Hill
• Sean Morales-Doyle on handling the influx of mail ballots // Spectrum News
• Faiza Patel on DHS’s enforcement of criminal regulations against protesters // Politico
• Myrna Pérez on the security of vote by mail // NBC News
• Michael Waldman on how to protect the integrity of elections during a pandemic // CBS'S THE DEBRIEF
• Wendy Weiser on Trump’s concerted effort to discredit the legitimacy of the election // New York Times