In the middle of a pandemic, despite widespread efforts to restrict the vote, citizens voted at the highest level since 1900. Voters embodied the diverse, hopeful country we want to be, and now we have a president and vice president elect lifted into office by women and Black, Latino, and Asian voters. The election process was a testament to election officials across the country who, from the start of the pandemic, saw they had to change how elections would be run so citizens could vote without risking their health. Congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who have the chance to speak to the better angels of our nature, give voice to the hopes of a changing country, and write the next chapter in the American story.

It does not appear that any of Trump’s lawsuits will affect the outcome of the election. Thus far, they haven’t been about protecting the integrity of the election process, but rather at diverting from it by objecting to normal processes. The basis of American democracy is that we pick our leaders — our leaders do not pick their voters. The path forward is to ignore the noise and disinformation.

The 2020 election wasn’t just historic for its turnout — it was also the most expensive federal election on record. The price tag was just shy of $4 billion, double the previous presidential election cycle, with Democrats outspending Republicans at the federal level. Brennan Center Fellow Ciara Torres-Spelliscy takes a look at campaign fundraising across the board — and why the Trump campaign is, apparently, in a financial hole.

There were many criminal justice-related issues on the ballot this year across the country — from sheriff and prosecutor races to ballot initiatives on police oversight, drug reform, and over-incarceration. To offer some context and perspective on the results, Brennan Center Justice Program Director Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Brennan Center Fellow Andrew Cohen shared a few of their takeaways from the election, and what the results might mean for the future.

2020 Jorde Symposium: The New Countermajoritarian Difficulty
Thursday, November 12 | 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. ET
A combination of structural factors (the Electoral College and the equal representation of states in the Senate) and sociological ones (a changing electorate polarized along regional lines) pose new threats to majority rule in the United States. Pamela Karlan (Stanford Law School) will consider the role of the courts in reinforcing representation through judicial review. Nick Stephanopoulos (Harvard Law School) and Franita Tolson (USC Gould Law School) will serve as commentators. This event is hosted in partnership with Berkeley Law and the California Law Review. RSVP today.

Fixing SCOTUS: Proposals for Court Reform in the Modern Era
Wednesday, November 18 | 4:40 p.m.–5:40 p.m. ET
As we face the reality of an increasingly conservative Supreme Court that is dismissive or even hostile to equal rights and protections for all citizens, join panelists Alicia Bannon (managing director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program) and Jamal Greene (Dwight Professor of Law at Columbia Law School) and moderator Gabe Roth (executive director of Fix the Court) for a discussion on the state of the federal court system, various reform proposals, and how we can shape the courts of the future. This event is produced in partnership with the American Constitution Society at NYU School of Law and Columbia Law School. RSVP today.

Yurij Rudensky, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, recommends “How to De-Trumpify the Justice Department.” The article lays out the numerous ways the Justice Department has been co-opted by the Trump administration over the past four years and lays out concrete steps that the Biden administration can take to right the ship.

The election is over — and there’s still work to do. Democracy won this year, and it’s up to us to make sure it keeps winning. Will you make a gift to the Brennan Center today?