On Wednesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order restoring voting rights to Iowans with former convictions. This marks a new era — now no state has a policy of permanently and categorically banning people with former convictions from voting. The practice of disenfranchising people with criminal convictions comes from Jim Crow laws. It is time for us to eradicate all vestiges of that shameful era.

Americans have voted during times of emergency throughout history. While the Civil War raged in 1864, through the influenza pandemic of 1918, during World War II when thousands of voters were fighting overseas, and even in 2004 while we were on high alert for terrorist attacks. The consistency of the election schedule means a commitment to our democracy and our voting rights. As President Lincoln said, “We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.” We won’t be conquered.

Nowhere was the hatred for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev stronger than in Massachusetts, making it extremely difficult for him to get a fair trial in the state. But last week a new federal appeals court ruling overturned his death sentence, strengthening fair trial rights for defendants. This constitutional right has been severely weakened over the years, but this ruling breathes new life into it again.

Every four years on election night, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC rush to deliver the results to eager viewers — sometimes at the expense of complete data. This year, with the pandemic and hundreds of thousands of expected mail-in ballots to be counted, the final tally will take longer than we’re used to. But it has to be this way.

One month before the coronavirus outbreak at California’s San Quentin State Prison, officials turned down free Covid-19 testing for incarcerated individuals. As of July 30, 19 people there have died from the virus. Overcrowding, limited access to healthcare, and high numbers of elderly and at-risk individuals are some of the many reasons prisons have become hotspots for the virus. But very few states are taking the necessary steps to dramatically reduce their prison populations and protect those in prisons. Unless something changes, we will continue to see our worst predictions play out in prisons around the country.

The protests that followed the murder of George Floyd have seen an all-out assault on Americans’ rights. In addition to proving protesters’ point that law enforcement’s use of excessive force is out of control, the infiltration and monitoring of protests by undercover officers has a chilling effect on First Amendment rights. Fear of plainclothes police spying on activists, the danger to undocumented immigrants because of ICE’s attendance, and resulting distrust of one’s fellow protesters all discourage would-be marchers from participating. Undercover officers sometimes even initiate or enable violence between police and protesters, further escalating the already violent policing of dissent. Plainclothes police should be prohibited from attending protests.

Since 2017, ICE officers have made common practice of arresting people at state and local courthouses who are appearing in court for reasons unrelated to immigration. Advocates have been fighting back, and they won a major victory last week when the New York State Legislature passed the Protect Our Courts Act. When this bill becomes law, ICE will be prohibited from arresting anyone going to or from a court proceeding, unless the officer has a warrant signed by a judge. With such a huge increase in these types of arrests under the Trump administration, New York and states with similar laws are leading the way for other jurisdictions to ensure everyone in their communities has safe access to justice.

This Is What Democracy Looks Like: The Movement for Voting Rights Restoration
Thursday, Aug 13 | 6:00–7:00 p.m. EDT | This is a virtual event.
Criminal disenfranchisement laws strip voting rights from people with past convictions, excluding millions of Americans from participating in our democratic process. This event brings together advocates from California, Florida, Iowa, and Kentucky for a conversation about the recent developments around rights restoration in their states. RSVP today.

Bad Ballots and Lost Votes: The Path to Better Ballot Design
Tuesday, Aug 11 | 12:00–1:00 p.m. EDT | This is a virtual event.
A ballot is one of the most important tools of a functioning democracy, and yet poorly designed ballots continue to disenfranchise thousands of voters every year. What do ballot defects look like? And how can election officials remedy them? RSVP today.

What We’re Reading
Eliza Sweren-Becker, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy program, recommends the court order for Jamison v. McClendon. The order explores issues of equality and qualified immunity looking at the case of Clarence Jamison, who in 2013 was pulled over by a white police officer McClendon who proceeded to illegally search Jamison’s vehicle.