If enacted, the For the People Act — which passed in the House as H.R. 1 and has been introduced in the Senate as S. 1 — would be the most significant democracy reform legislation in over half a century. It protects voting rights, establishes automatic voter registration, bars gerrymandering, and curbs the role of money in politics — plus it has overwhelming public support. But a disinformation campaign on this landmark legislation is confusing too many people. Here’s what you need to know to help your friends and neighbors understand what’s true and what’s false.

The Arizona Senate is conducting what it ludicrously calls an “audit” of Maricopa County’s November election results. In reality, this stunt is part of the Republican misinformation campaign to delegitimize the 2020 election because they were unhappy with its outcome. Social media platforms need to play a bigger role in combating election-related misinformation.

Rep. Matt Gaetz’s name has come up repeatedly as his associate faces a slew of federal criminal charges including stalking, making fake IDs, and sex trafficking. Gaetz himself has not been charged, but Brennan Center Fellow Ciara Torres-Spelliscy argues that he may be making things worse for himself if he is paying for legal fees out of his congressional campaign fund.

In a recent entry in our Punitive Excess series, Nkechi Taifa reflects on the legacy of the 1994 crime bill. The legislation featured the largest expansion of the federal death penalty in modern times, gutted habeas corpus, and put 100,000 new police officers on the streets, leading to an explosion in racial profiling. Now, Taifa argues, a new narrative is emerging to replace the “tough-on-crime” mindset of the War on Drugs.

Just 13 months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. This week, however, the Court said that people who were convicted that way in the past have no right to a second chance. Brennan Center Fellow Andrew Cohen explains how the latest ruling is a defeat for countless people who were convicted under rules that — by the Court’s own finding — are unconscionable.

Remember: voter fraud is vanishingly rare. Read more on Instagram >>

For the People: A Conversation with Larry Krasner
Tuesday, May 25 | 12:30 p.m.–1:15 p.m. ET
Larry Krasner worked as a criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia for 30 years before being elected district attorney in 2017. In this virtual talk, Krasner will discuss his new book, For the People: A Story of Justice and Power, and offer an inspiring vision of how people can take back power and reform the criminal justice system. Krasner will be in conversation with Angela J. Davis, distinguished professor of law at American University Washington College of Law. RSVP today.

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

After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made
Monday, June 7 | 12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m. ET
In his new memoir, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor under President Barack Obama, shares insights from politicians, activists, and dissidents around the world who have been on the frontlines of the fight against authoritarianism and ethnonationalism. Vivian Salama, a longtime foreign correspondent who is now national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal, will moderate. RSVP today.

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

Joseph Nunn, fellow in the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, recommends “Why Confederate Lies Live On,” which explains how “Lost Cause” myths about slavery and the Civil War persist.