The Supreme Court ruled today in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee that two racially discriminatory Arizona voting laws do not violate the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution, overturning a Ninth Circuit ruling. The decision, which relies on a narrow reading of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, will make it more difficult to challenge discriminatory voting laws in court. The justices stopped short of eviscerating the Voting Rights Act, but they nevertheless did significant damage to this vital civil rights law and to the freedom to vote.

Fifty years ago today, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. But now, state legislation making it harder to vote often hits young people harder. To restore the promise of the 26th Amendment and guarantee youth suffrage, we urgently need federal action, including the immediate passage of the For the People Act.

In its latest blunder, the New York City Board of Elections counted 135,000 test ballots during a count this week for the city’s mayoral primary. This latest blooper could not have come at a worse time. Already, the proponents of the Big Lie are in a feeding frenzy over it. But let’s set the record straight: the 2020 presidential election was safe, secure, and successful. We must ignore the politicians and trolls who continue to undermine confidence in American elections.

In a recent entry in our Punitive Excess series, Cameron Kimble and Ames Grawert explain how the collateral consequences of criminal convictions illustrate the retributive nature of the U.S. justice system. Truly ending mass incarceration will require eliminating these consequences and, ultimately, shifting our criminal justice paradigm away from retribution and towards restoration.

The Biden administration has pledged to issue regulations limiting the Justice Department’s ability to subpoena reporters’ records and to strengthen policies against obtaining lawmakers’ data, but those steps miss the bigger picture. It would be a mistake to settle for a policy that protects only a select few while leaving the rest of us — including political activists and communities of color — vulnerable to governmental intrusions on our constitutional rights.

The state of Alabama has lost its first bid to change the Census Bureau’s plans for releasing data for states to use for drawing voting maps. On Tuesday, a panel of three federal judges denied the state’s request both to speed up the bureau’s delivery date and to bar the bureau from using its new techniques for protecting people’s privacy. The ruling will permit redistricting to move forward later this summer as planned.

State bills across the country are targeting transgender people. The fight must continue until we are all liberated. Read more on Instagram >>

Institutional Reform to Protect Democracy
Wednesday, July 7 // 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. ET
In late 2020, the Protecting Our Democracy Act was introduced in the House with 92 cosponsors. It is a landmark reform package to prevent future presidential abuses, restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability and transparency, and protect our elections. That bill would patch some of the institutional weaknesses revealed during the Trump administration and before. While there has been some piecemeal action on those issues, Congress has not acted holistically. This webinar discussion will focus on necessary reforms and why action is needed urgently. RSVP today.

Maya Efrati, public policy counsel at the Brennan Center, recommends “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?.” in which Emily Bazelon writes about the wrongful conviction of Yutico Briley.