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

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The Briefing

For two months, Republicans, conspiracy theorists, and “Stop the Steal” activists have been conducting an “audit” of Arizona’s presidential election results. Critics call it the “fraudit.”

It devolved into a national joke as fevered partisans looked for evidence of bamboo fibers to prove that China had printed the ballots to give the state to Joe Biden. The spectacle is reportedly backfiring

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, as Arizona’s independent voters recoil.

But it’s no joke. It shows how deeply Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen has seeped into American politics. And now similar partisan election reviews are beginning to spread across the country.

In Pennsylvania last week, a state senator asked three counties, including Philadelphia, for access to election equipment and materials. The legislator, a leader in the state’s “Stop the Steal” movement, said he’s copying the method of election deniers in Maricopa County, Arizona, where this nonsense began.

In response, Philadelphia’s Republican City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who is responsible for the city’s elections, retorted: “I would encourage our legislators to educate themselves to know that our election was certified and that it was audited, not once — but twice — and there was no doubt about the outcome. It was safe, it was secure, and it wasn’t even close.” In other words: Trump lost, Biden won.

These sham “audits,” however, are anything but objective and secure. In a joint report with R Street Institute and Protect Democracy, we examined

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proposed and ongoing reviews of election results in five states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

In each state, the partisan reviews “fail to meet the basic standards you’d expect of credible election audit,” tweeted my colleague and coauthor of the report, Gowri Ramachandran. Every one violates at least some of the following five standards: transparency, objectivity, prewritten and comprehensive procedures, competence, and security. They also waste taxpayer money: the fraudit in Maricopa County alone has cost taxpayers an estimated $2.4 million.

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It’s hard to not see these partisan reviews as anything but part of a coordinated attack on our democracy. The results are deeply disturbing. Election officials threatened

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and afraid to do their jobs. Nearly 400 bills introduced

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in 48 state houses to make it harder to vote. At least 28 new laws passed

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in 17 states to restrict access to the vote. And with redistricting about to start, state legislatures and commissions will begin drawing legislative and congressional maps that could purposely dilute the voting power of communities of color as well as young and poor voters.

Put this all together, and there’s a blinking red warning sign hovering over our nation’s ability to conduct free and fair elections. We ignore it at our peril.

Democracy

If the Supreme Court Won’t Protect Voting Rights, Congress Must

The Supreme Court has delivered another blow to the Voting Rights Act. The Court previously weakened the law’s protections with its infamous 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder. Now, in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, the justices have made it harder to bring lawsuits against discriminatory voting policies. “It’s the latest sign that if the voting rights of all Americans are to be defended, Congress, not the nation’s highest court, will have to provide that defense,” writes Sean Morales-Doyle. That means passing the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. // Washington Post

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How to Fix NYC’s Board of Elections

The New York City Board of Elections has a track record of failures, culminating with the recent accidental inclusion of 135,000 test ballots in a count for the mayoral primary race. The board’s problems are rooted in a lack of accountability, transparency, and professionalism. Joanna Zdanys and Hazel Millard offer solutions, ranging from an overhaul via state constitutional amendment to shorter-term changes. These include an open hiring process, better training, and stronger data transparency requirements. // Read More

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Justice

The Dehumanizing Work of Immigration Law

Immigration policy was a major issue in the last election, and Joe Biden promised to reverse numerous anti-immigrant practices of the Trump administration. But America’s underlying immigration laws are still unduly harsh, leading to family separation and other needless suffering, argues UC Berkeley Law Professor Jennifer M. Chacón. The result is that for many immigrants, “the law is a threatening sword, not a protective shield.” In the latest entry in the our Punitive Excess series

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, Chacón makes the case for a more humane immigration system. // Read More

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Constitution

Social Media “Wanted” Posters Are an Abuse of Power

It’s understandable for police departments to post photos on social media to find fugitives, but using the tactic for low-level matters like parole violations is another story. “The person hasn’t been convicted,” Faiza Patel told the Los Angeles Times, adding that the online campaigns also “contribute to a culture of paranoia in this country. ... Even when crime is way down, people perceive it’s higher.” // Los Angeles Times

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Fellows

The State’s Obligation to Address Structural Racism

In an interview about his new book

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with the Washington Post, Brennan Center Senior Fellow Theodore Johnson explains how effectively fighting racism in America benefits everyone, not just the victims of discrimination. “When race can be exploited to divide us, our government doesn’t have to be responsive to any of us,” he said. “All of us are cheated out of the benefits of citizenship and our own work when those in positions to address our problems successfully explain them away as the product of some other group’s actions. And while we’re bickering about intergroup relationships and who is responsible to fix what, we let government off the hook to structure our society in a way that benefits us all.” // Washington Post

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News

Michael Li on Republican redistricting efforts in the fast-growing suburbs of Georgia and Texas // MSNBC

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Harsha Panduranga on President Biden’s domestic terrorism plan // The World

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Eliza Sweren-Becker on state legislatures taking power away from election officials in favor of lawmakers // Bloomberg

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Michael Waldman on state voting restrictions after the Big Lie // NPR

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Dan Weiner on corporate America’s broken promise to not fund politicians who peddle the Big Lie // Associated Press

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Wendy Weiser on the impact of the Supreme Court’s latest voting rights decision // Associated Press

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Joanna Zdanys on the incompetence of New York City’s Board of Elections // Associated Press

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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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