Your weekly source for analysis and insight from experts at the Brennan Center for Justice

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The Briefing

As if lies about fraud, attacks on the mail, and delayed results weren’t enough, now there’s widespread fear that law enforcement and troublemakers will show up and wreak havoc at polling places. Once again, credit the president. During the first presidential debate, he told supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully.” Previously he had threatened to send federal law enforcement in. But no matter what the president says, voter intimidation — by partisan vigilantes or by government officials — is a crime.

All this is largely bluster, designed to discourage voters, particularly voters of color, from participating. It’s verbal voter suppression tinged with the threat of violence.

Our new guide, Voters Should Not Be Intimidated

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, lays out the restrictions on law enforcement and vigilante groups at voting sites. Another new resource, Limits on Observers and Challengers at the Polls

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, details what poll watchers and challengers can and cannot do. There are rules about how many watchers or challengers are permitted at a polling location, who can serve in these roles, processes for appointing them, and restrictions on conduct.

Election administrators are actively preparing and coordinating with state and federal officials to keep voters safe. We can’t let fearmongering from the president or his subordinates undermine this election.

Democracy

Victory for Voting Rights in Pennsylvania

Over the weekend, a federal judge upheld the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s mail ballot drop boxes, county residency for poll watchers, and other voting rules, rejecting claims of voter fraud as too “speculative” and supported by “scant” evidence. The Brennan Center represented PennFuture and the Sierra Club as defendants in the case against the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. “The plaintiffs sought to reduce the choices Pennsylvania voters have for casting their ballots at a time when those choices are more important than ever,” said Myrna Pérez. “The ruling represents a big step forward in the fight to preserve voting rights against efforts to diminish our democracy.” // Read More

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Why We Need to Protect the Rule of Law in the Federal Government

These past four years, norms have been smashed and checks and balances upended. The response must be more than just restoring the unwritten rules — we need to codify them. Tim Lau spoke with Daniel Weiner and Martha Kinsella about the gaps in Watergate-era ethics laws, the recently introduced Protecting Our Democracy Act, scientific integrity, and more. // Read More

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To Avoid a Meltdown, Officials Must Stockpile Paper Ballots

Elections can be marred by voting machine malfunctions or cyberattacks, but there’s a low-tech solution to high-tech problems: an ample supply of backup paper supplies. Officials should have enough to keep voter lines moving for up to three hours, which would cover 40 percent of all Election Day voters on average. This is the best way to ensure that technical glitches don’t disenfranchise voters, write Gowri Ramachandran and Derek Tisler. // Read More

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Protect Election 2020 — En Español

This new page on the Brennan Center’s website features helpful resources for voters in Spanish, including information about voting by mail, voting safely in person, and the lies undermining our democracy. // Read More

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Justice

Amy Coney Barrett’s Judicial Record in Criminal Cases

At a time of renewed reckoning to address America’s long history of racial injustice, the Supreme Court will likely soon consider issues related to criminal justice. In Amy Coney Barrett’s short time on the bench, she has written several opinions that shed light on how she may rule on criminal justice issues if elevated to the high court. Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Alia Nahra take a look at these opinions. // Read More

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The Misdemeanor System Reinforces Economic Inequality

Involvement with the American criminal justice system can lead to economic barriers such as hiring discrimination and lower wages. These consequences don’t stop with felony convictions. Even misdemeanor convictions for minor offenses can have a severe impact. A new Brennan Center report finds that people with a misdemeanor conviction experience reduced annual earnings by an average of 16 percent, totaling nearly $100,000 over the course of a lifetime. Tim Lau takes a deep dive into how the earnings losses caused by a misdemeanor conviction reinforce patterns of economic inequality and racial disparities in wealth. // Read More

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A Prosecutor’s Take on Fixing Racial Injustice

Stephanie Morales hopes to put herself out of work. A commonwealth’s attorney in Portsmouth, Virginia, she seeks to shrink the need for police, prosecutors, and the entire criminal justice system. “For years, prosecutors have perpetuated harms on Black communities and communities of color, poor and impoverished people, and LGBTQ+ communities,” she tells Leily Arzy. “I try to take the restorative justice approach on a daily basis.” // Read More

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Constitution

Homegrown Hate: The War Among Us

A new documentary looks at the growth of hate and white supremacy in the United States. Featuring Brennan Center Fellow Michael German, the film traces the origins of the KKK after the Civil War and connects it to the Oklahoma City bombing and modern-day white power movement. // ABC News

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Coming Up

VIRTUAL EVENT: Election Day: The Final Countdown

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Friday, October 16 | 12:00–1:00 p.m. EDT

In partnership with Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program, this final event in a series of virtual workshops on election security will discuss the final push before Election Day. The event will feature New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Greene County, Missouri, Clerk Shane Schoeller, and be moderated by the Brennan Center’s Lawrence Norden. RSVP today

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VIRTUAL EVENT: Who Gets to Vote in America?

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Monday, October 19 | 6:00–7:00 p.m. EDT

Voter suppression threatens to tilt election results in states across the country and drown out the rising influence of both minority and young voters in America. In partnership with the Commonwealth Club of California, Brennan Center President Michael Waldman, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman will discuss the consequences of voter suppression, what everyone can do to advocate for a free and fair election and the fight ahead. RSVP today

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News

Michael German on FBI agents sent to Portland to “exploit” protesters’ phones // New York Review of Books

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Douglas Keith on spending in judicial elections // Des Moines Register

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Lawrence Norden on voter fraud and mail ballot security // Fox 5 New York

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Myrna Pérez on voter suppression and voting by mail // The Daily Show

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Wendy Weiser on the Justice Department’s easing of election fraud inquiry constraints // New York Times

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Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on Amy Coney Barrett // Ms. Magazine

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Have an issue you'd like us to cover? Feedback on this newsletter? Email us at [email protected]

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The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice.


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