As state legislatures across the country try to restrict voting, the stakes could not be higher.
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We Have a Chance to Fix Democracy
The Senate has begun debate on the For the People Act, which includes national standards that would make it easier to vote, bans partisan and discriminatory legislative districts, and stops voter suppression in its tracks. These reforms come at a critical moment for democracy, as state legislatures across the country try to restrict voting
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, particularly in Black, brown, and Native American communities. Yesterday, Brennan Center President Michael Waldman testified before the Senate in support of the bill.
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In addition to sweeping reforms to improve voting, redistricting, and ethics laws, the For the People Act would also establish a voluntary small donor match public financing system for candidates running for federal office. This type of program is transformative. It matches and multiplies donations to candidates from everyday Americans, and it allows candidates to stop chasing big checks and special interest money and instead focus on grassroots supporters. It’s a new idea for federal elections, but it already has an established track record
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The Emerging Fight Over Gerrymandering
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The 2011–12 redistricting cycle saw some of the worst partisan gerrymandering and racially discriminatory district maps in history. This further stripped the political power of communities of color, but at the same time, there’s growing momentum to make the redistricting process more fair. With a new redistricting cycle on the horizon, these are the political, legal, and demographic factors at play.
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Georgia’s Attempt to Limit Out-of-Precinct Voting Will Hurt Black Neighborhoods
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Georgia legislators are considering a provision that would throw out a voter’s entire ballot if it’s cast at the wrong precinct, even for statewide races. While this proposed policy change will be harmful to all sorts of voters, it will fall especially on voters who have moved within their county. And while we don’t know exactly who is moving within the county, we do know where they live — in neighborhoods that have more people of color and lower average incomes. This is just one bill of many in Georgia and across the country that represent a doubling down on the disenfranchisement of Black, brown, and Native American voters.
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An Overlooked Idea for Fixing the Supreme Court
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In the coming weeks, President Biden is expected to convene a commission to consider Supreme Court reform. Here’s a little discussed idea that warrants close study: giving each president exactly two seats to fill per four-year term that expire if left unused. This would set the stage for a “reset” away from the partisan hardball that has come to characterize the nomination process
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This Week on Instagram
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It's #womenshistorymonth
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, but too many women today are locked out of democracy. The #ForThePeopleAct
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would change that. Read more on Instagram >>
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Virtual Events
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Salon Series: Sisters in Hate with Author Seyward Darby
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Thursday, April 1 | 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
After the election of Donald Trump, journalist Seyward Darby went looking for the women of the so-called “alt-right” — really just white nationalism with a new label. Join Darby and Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program Codirector Faiza Patel for a conversation about Darby’s new book, Sisters in Hate
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This event is produced in partnership with NYU’s John Brademas Center. RSVP today.
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Democracy in an Age of Mistrust: A Conversation with Ethan Zuckerman and Omar Wasow
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Thursday, April 8 | 12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m. ET
Americans and citizens of democracies worldwide are losing confidence in their institutions. How should we engage in public life when neither protests nor elections bring about lasting change? In Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them
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, author Ethan Zuckerman explores how Americans can use their skepticism to resurrect, reform, or outright replace the institutions that no longer serve them. In conversation with Princeton political scientist Omar Wasow, he will offer a guide for new ways to participate in civic life. This event is produced in partnership with NYU’s John Brademas Center. RSVP today.
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What We’re Reading
Michael Li, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, recommends “Foreigners in Their Own Country: Asian Americans at State Department Confront Discrimination
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.” The article discusses how Asian-American staff of the State Department are speaking out against the “assignment restrictions” placed on them, which prevent them from doing work related to the countries of their ancestral origin.
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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.
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
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