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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• VIRTUAL EVENT: Election Day: The Final Countdown
  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.

• VIRTUAL EVENT: Who Gets to Vote in America?
  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.

• Michael German on FBI agents sent to Portland to “exploit” protesters’ phones // New York Review of Books
• Douglas Keith on spending in judicial elections // Des Moines Register
• Lawrence Norden on voter fraud and mail ballot security // Fox 5 New York
• Myrna Pérez on voter suppression and voting by mail // The Daily Show
• Wendy Weiser on the Justice Department’s easing of election fraud inquiry constraints // New York Times
• Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on Amy Coney Barrett // Ms. Magazine