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

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The Briefing

Last night, the For the People Act had its first test in the Senate. It was not, of course, a vote on the bill itself. In the intricate quadrille of Senate procedure, it was a vote on whether to allow a debate to start. Fifty senators, all Democrats, voted to proceed, not enough to break the Republican logjam.

This was a big deal — a significant and positive development.

The Democrats were unified in voting to move the bill forward and start the process of legislating. That 50-vote tally, of course, included Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He had previously said he would oppose S. 1. In recent days, he put forward a substitute plan. The Brennan Center and others who are fighting for reform were unanimous in our response: it was a breakthrough moment — with Democrats united in recognizing the intensifying threats facing our democracy and the urgent need to address them.

Manchin’s plan includes protections for early voting, automatic voter registration, making Election Day a holiday, provisions to expose dark money in politics, and a ban on partisan gerrymandering. To be clear, there are key reforms not included, reforms passed by the House and backed by all the other Democrats, including small donor financing of campaigns. Now even more intense negotiations and legislative activity should start.

I have a special plea to everyone following this landmark legislation: ignore the headlines and pundits who declare the For the People Act dead on arrival. It’s the 2021 equivalent of “Democrats in Disarray.” It has passed the House. It has the ardent support of the White House. (Earlier today, I and other voting rights group leaders met, via Zoom, with Vice President Harris to map strategy.) It is wildly popular with the public. And now it is on the floor of the Senate.

This bill has momentum, even given the stop-and-start, dead-then-alive way that major legislation moves. The real question is: Why are Republican senators so determined to block the most important and necessary voting rights bill in a generation?

To that question, we should all demand answers over the coming weeks of congressional recess.





Democracy

Election Officials Under Attack

Around the country, election officials have been under attack in the last year. Long used to staying in the background, they have now found themselves cast as villains, scapegoated for election outcomes that some politicians and voters did not like. A survey of election officials commissioned by the Brennan Center and conducted by Benenson Strategy Group found that one in three election officials feel unsafe because of their job, and nearly one in five listed threats to their lives as a job-related concern. A new Brennan Center report outlines concrete steps that lawmakers, administrators, and internet companies can take to protect election workers. // Read More

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Equity for the People

The For the People Act is the next great civil rights bill. A new Brennan Center report outlines how the bill helps advance equity in the country’s political systems and dismantle many longstanding inequities that have hindered access to American democracy. “Ultimately, the For the People Act envisions an inclusive American future where every voter’s voice is heard, and where our leaders represent and reflect our citizens,” write Elizabeth Hira, Julia Boland, and Julia Kirschenbaum. “It is the best opportunity we have ever had to fulfill the American promise of expanding who belongs in ‘We, the People.’” // Read More

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Unlocking the Vote in Connecticut

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law Senate Bill 1202 today, restoring the right to vote to as many as 4,000 people with past convictions. Thanks to this new law, there are now no states that distinguish between probation and parole when it comes to eligibility to vote. “These state victories demonstrate nationwide support for an inclusive, accessible democracy and a desire to break down barriers that disproportionately lock Black voters out of the ballot box,” writes Stuart Baum. “Building on success in Connecticut, New York, and Washington this year, lawmakers across the country and in Congress have more work to do to unlock voting rights for all of our neighbors and ensure a free and fair democracy.” // Read More

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Shelby County v. Holder Left a Voting Rights Hole

This Friday marks eight years since the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, one of this country’s most successful pieces of civil rights legislation. Today, with state lawmakers taking advantage of the gaping hole in voting rights protections left by Shelby County v. Holder, the need for action is urgent. “Congress can and must act to once again make good on the promise of the 15th Amendment,” writes Eliza Sweren-Becker. “That means passing the For the People Act and restoring the Voting Rights Act so that no voter faces discrimination at the ballot box.” // Read More

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Justice

Collateral Consequences and the Enduring Nature of Punishment

Roughly 600,000 people leave prisons every year hoping that their punishment has ended, only to encounter a combination of laws, rules, and biases forming barriers that block them from jobs, housing, and fundamental participation in our political, economic, and cultural life. These “collateral consequences” powerfully illustrate the excessively retributive nature of American criminal justice, write Cameron Kimble and Ames Grawert in the latest essay in the Brennan Center’s Punitive Excess series

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. “Truly ending mass incarceration will require eliminating these consequences as well, ensuring that we welcome people with a criminal record back into society and, ultimately, shifting our criminal justice paradigm away from retribution and towards restoration,” they write. // Read More

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Constitution

Big Tech, Data Privacy, and the Government

The news that Trump’s Department of Justice sought metadata from the Apple accounts of member of Congress, their staffs, and families has shined a spotlight on a troubling fact: investigators get this information routinely, without a warrant. “It's not private at all,” said Elizabeth Goitein. “In the sense that law enforcement intelligence agencies have access to it under a number of different authorities — including some that are extremely permissive.” // Yahoo Finance

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Coming Up

VIRTUAL EVENT: The Engagement: A Conversation with Sasha Issenberg and Nia-Malika Henderson

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Tuesday, June 29 // 12:00 p.m.–12:45 p.m. ET

A 2015 Supreme Court ruling made making same-sex unions legal across the United States — but the road to that momentous decision was much longer than many know. In his new book, The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage

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, Sasha Issenberg tells the riveting story of the conflict over same-sex marriage in the United States. In conversation with CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson, Issenberg will discuss the most significant civil rights breakthrough of the new millennium. RSVP today

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

VIRTUAL EVENT: P&P Live! Theodore R. Johnson | When the Stars Begin to Fall

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Wednesday, June 30 // 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. ET

When the Stars Begin to Fall

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makes a compelling, ambitious case for a pathway to the national solidarity necessary to mitigate racism. In the book, the Brennan Center’s Theodore R. Johnson posits that a blueprint for national solidarity can be found in the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America. Understanding that racism is a structural crime of the state, he argues that overcoming it requires us to recognize that a color-conscious society — not a color-blind one — is the true fulfillment of the American Promise. RSVP today

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This event is produced in partnership with Politics and Prose.

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

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News

Michael German on the “cozy” relationship that law enforcement appears to have with the Proud Boys // Rolling Stone

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Elizabeth Goitein on what Congress can do to protect communications privacy // Just Security

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Elizabeth Hira on the civil rights implications of the For the People Act // Ms. Magazine

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Lawrence Norden on how the threats faced by election workers could contribute to mass retirements // Politico

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Harsha Panduranga on the shortcomings of the Biden administration’s new violence prevention program // Los Angeles Times

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Faiza Patel and Mary Pat Dwyer on Facebook’s Oversight Board and its indefinite suspension of Trump // Just Security

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Hernandez Stroud on the debate over Section 242 and how it intersects with police reform // USA Today

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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.





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