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

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The Briefing

During the Jim Crow era, laws that looked neutral on their face were specifically designed to target Black voters. Today, legislators across the country are considering bills that will have the same effect. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Georgia, where last week, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law an omnibus bill that targets Black voters with uncanny accuracy.

It’s now a crime in Georgia to give a bottle of water or a snack to people waiting in line to vote. We know that in Georgia and across the country, hours-long lines to vote are more often in Black and brown communities. Mobile voting (polling sites on wheels that travel to different set locations) is also now illegal in Georgia — a practice that has only been used in Fulton County, which has the largest Black population in the state. Ballot drop boxes must now be located inside early voting sites instead of other convenient locations, and many voters who plan to vote by mail must provide a driver’s license or state ID number.

These laws will disproportionately harm Black, brown, and Native American voters. Legislators tried to pass even more onerous laws — like canceling vote by mail but preserving it for the segment of the electorate that tilts white and more conservative — but faced a sustained and effective outcry.

“It’s sick,” said President Biden about the Georgia law and the over 253 bills proposed across the country that would make voting harder.

As I said on NPR’s All Things Considered

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over the weekend, it’s a great political clash: a wave of proposed voter suppression in the states, and, with the For the People Act, a wave of proposed voting rights expansion at the federal level. If it becomes law, the For the People Act will stop this new wave of voter suppression cold. Congress has the power to stop these modern-day Jim Crow bills before they start.

Kemp signed his voter suppression bill in front of a painting of a plantation where more than 100 Black people had been enslaved. The symbolism, unnerving and ghastly, is almost too fitting.

When I testified

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before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in support of the For the People Act last week, I asked this: Will we live up to our best ideals, or our worst? Will we build a multiracial democracy that really represents all people, or will we allow a drive to take place to turn the clock back to cut back on voting rights?

These are questions Congress must answer — and soon.

Democracy

Texas Republicans Move Swiftly on Voter Suppression Bills

Opponents of the right to vote in Texas are moving quickly to enact voter suppression. Most alarming are the two omnibus bills that the state legislative leadership is pushing through: Senate Bill 7, which would effectively eliminate large voting centers and make it illegal to offer 24-hour and drive-through voting, and House Bill 6, which would limit the ability of election workers to protect voters against harassment and prohibit election officials from sending absentee ballot applications to voters who have not requested them. “Let’s not forget,” writes Myrna Pérez, “These efforts to restrict votes do not arise from a problem based in facts or reality.” // Read More

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Washington Will Be the 20th State to Restore Voting Rights to People With Past Criminal Convictions

Last week, the Washington State Senate passed a bill that would restore voting rights to people with felony convictions who are on probation or parole. The bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee, who is expected to sign it. It’s a positive step forward toward racial justice in voting, Sean Morales-Doyle told the Fulcrum, as Black people are four times more likely to be incarcerated in Washington than people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. // Fulcrum

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Justice

The Police Reform Movement Sparked by George Floyd’s Death Transcends Derek Chauvin’s Trial

Criminal trials are imperfect tests of evidence and stamina that unfold in an unrealistic world in which the defendant and the public are led to believe that judges and jurors are unbiased, writes Brennan Center Fellow Andrew Cohen. “It’s important to keep these low expectations in mind as you follow the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin,” he writes. “The debate over policing in the wake of Floyd’s death will last beyond Chauvin’s trial and has already been shaped by what happened last May in Minneapolis.” // Read More

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Constitution

After Trump: Preventing Abuse and Restoring the Rule of Law

From inappropriate contacts with the Justice Department to politically motivated pardons to the president’s refusal to separate himself from his businesses, the Trump administration blatantly disregarded long-established guardrails. Trump-era excesses were unique, but prior administrations also committed serious abuses. It’s important that we shore up safeguards for the rule of law and ethical government, and the Protecting Our Democracy Act can be the first step. // Read More

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In the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, anxiety grew over what he might do to try to hold on to the White House. As it turned out, he wielded the power of an angry mob rather than the emergency authorities granted to the chief executive by Congress. But it would be unwise indeed to shudder in relief and move on. Invoking emergency powers would not have enabled all the actions people feared, but many of them give presidents tools that could be used to undermine democracy. The Protecting Our Democracy Act contains two important reforms — the first focusing on the National Emergencies Act, the other involving pre-drafted presidential emergency documents. Congress should move swiftly to enact these changes before the next storm hits. // Fulcrum

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Coming Up

VIRTUAL EVENT: 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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RSVP today

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This event is produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center.

VIRTUAL EVENT: 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. RSVP today

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This event is produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center.

VIRTUAL EVENT: Supreme Injustice: How a Conservative Court Will Reshape America

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Thursday, April 22 | 12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m. ET

Donald Trump’s legacy will live on for decades through the three justices he appointed to the Supreme Court. How will these justices use their power? In his new book, The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America

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, Ian Millhiser, a lawyer, senior Vox correspondent, and former federal appellate court clerk presents an unflinching view of an increasingly partisan court. In conversation with the New Republic’s Osita Nwanevu, Millhiser will discuss how the Court will shake the nature of American government. RSVP today

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This event is produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center.

Want to keep up with Brennan Center events? Subscribe to the events newsletter.

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News

Alicia Bannon on remote court proceedings and the Derek Chauvin trial // USA Today

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Lauren-Brooke Eisen on Biden and police reform // ABA Journal

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Michael German on how law enforcement downplays racial and ethnic bias // Washington Post

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Rachel Levinson-Waldman on the Department of Homeland Security and social media monitoring // NBC News

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Michael Li on what to expect in the next redistricting cycle // Guardian

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Eliza Sweren-Becker on state voter suppression efforts // PBS NEWSHOUR

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Wendy Weiser on restrictive voting laws // Los Angeles Times

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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.

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

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New York, NY 10271

T 646 292 8310

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