Your weekly source for analysis and insight from experts at the Brennan Center for Justice
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Tomorrow a vote will occur in Congress that has serious implications for our democracy.
The Senate will vote on whether or not to begin debate on the Freedom to Vote Act, a critical step toward passing this landmark legislation. It was crafted by lawmakers including Sens. Joe Manchin, Amy Klobuchar, and Charles Schumer. In response to the wave of anti-voter attacks in the states, the FTVA establishes a significant set of new national standards and reforms to make our democracy work better for all.
In 2020, despite the pandemic, and despite voter suppression, we had the highest turnout since 1900. The election was secure and safe. It was a remarkable achievement. The response: Trump’s Big Lie, an insurrection driven by that lie, and now a wave of new state laws also driven by that lie.
Nineteen states have passed 33 laws making it harder to vote. State and local election administrators face violent threats and intimidation for their public service, as Republican-controlled legislators try to rig election rules to assure their control at the state and federal level. And in both Democrat- and Republican-controlled states across the country, partisans are drawing maps that lock in their party’s control in a way that too often discriminates along racial, ethnic, and partisan lines.
The Freedom to Vote Act would stop this voter suppression and gerrymandering, cold.
It creates national standards for voting access in federal elections that will neutralize many of the restrictive voting laws passed in the states. It mandates early voting, no-excuse mail voting, an Election Day holiday, and protections for voters with disabilities to make voting as convenient as possible.
It also protects the free and fair administration of our elections. The bill would prevent the politicized removal of election officials as well as safeguard them from partisan intimidation and harassment
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during the election process. And to prevent partisan election manipulation, the Freedom to Vote Act sets uniform rules for vote counting nationwide.
The bill reforms the redistricting process, too, which is ongoing all across the United States right now. The Freedom to Vote Act bans partisan gerrymandering in congressional redistricting and sets strong, uniform rules for congressional map drawing. The bill also increases protections for communities of color in the redistricting process and allows for discriminatory or gerrymandered maps to be challenged in court quickly and fixed. If this legislation is passed soon, it would prevent the worst gerrymanders from taking effect.
Now, for the first time, a clear majority of the Senate — all 50 Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris — support this bill. But it is meeting intense resistance from Republican senators, who don’t want to even debate the bill, much less work toward passing a bill both sides can agree upon. As Senate Majority Leader Schumer said on Monday, if we’re going to protect our democracy, “Our Republican colleagues must agree to come to the table first. They should agree to let the Senate begin debate.”
The vote tomorrow will be a test for the Senate. But more, it will be a test for our democracy and our leaders. If the bill is blocked, the story should not be “Democrats in disarray” but “Republican obstruction.”
President Biden has said we face the greatest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. Strong words. But unfortunately, so far, not matched by an intense, sustained, and focused attention on how we can strengthen our democracy against these attacks. A Washington Post reporter asked me if we were “cautiously optimistic” the White House would engage more deeply. I replied that we are “anxiously optimistic.”
I worked in a White House for seven years, including as President Clinton’s chief speechwriter. I know that presidents can’t magically produce legislative action. Even the use of the bully pulpit rarely sparks a wave of public demands for change. But presidents can do a lot — and at key moments. The “soul of America” is at stake.
For a fuller breakdown on what the Freedom to Vote Act does, read our fact sheet
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Democracy
The Freedom to Vote Act and Redistricting
Americans are facing down another round of partisan gerrymandering, with communities of color at the greatest risk of losing representation. Passing the Freedom to Vote Act would provide for the most thorough transformation of the redistricting process in American history, and inaction would enable the brazenly unjust redistricting processes seen in many states already. Time is of the essence, as Michael Li reminds us. “Every day that passes increases the risk that communities of color will bear the brunt of a brutal redistricting cycle, with fallout that could be decades long,” he writes. Read more
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Constitution
Bringing the Posse Comitatus Act into the 21st Century
Military interference in civilian affairs is a threat to both democracy and personal liberty. The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878, prevents the president from using the military to engage in civilian policing except when expressly authorized by Congress, but events in the last two years have highlighted weak points of the law. While it does a great deal to limit presidential abuse, reforms are still needed to address its loopholes. Joseph Nunn explains the law’s history, how it works, and the three fixes it needs most. “Despite the ignominious origins of the law itself, the broader principle that the military should not be allowed to interfere in the affairs of civilian government is a core American value,” he writes. Read more
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Justice
A Dangerous Mistake in Alabama
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recently signed legislation establishing that nearly a fifth of the federal Covid-19 stimulus funds received by the state would be used to construct new state prisons. Lauren-Brooke Eisen explains the “dangerous mistake” of this decision, from its problematic embrace of mass incarceration to the fact that Alabama has the highest state prison Covid-19 death rates in the nation. She also urges the Biden administration to ensure that other states don’t misuse funds this way. “The state should instead invest resources in diverting people away from the criminal legal system and supporting drug treatment, mental health programming, and re-entry services,” she writes. THE HILL
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Coming Up
VIRTUAL EVENT: White Space, Black Hood: Segregation in the Age of Inequality
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Tuesday, October 26, 6–7 p.m. ET
Historical housing discrimination has created a modern-day caste system where neighborhood often determines opportunity. These discriminatory policies trap Black people in high-poverty neighborhoods and divert funding towards affluent, predominantly white areas. Does this mean social mobility is now only a myth? Join Georgetown Law professor Sheryll Cashin to discuss her important new book with the Brennan Center’s Ted Johnson. RSVP today
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Produced in partnership with New York University's John Brademas Center
VIRTUAL EVENT: The Midterms: What to Expect Next November and Beyond
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Thursday, November 4, 5–6 p.m. ET
Midterm elections always matter — but in this divided era, at a critical junction for countless policy areas, the 2022 midterms will matter more than most. From the role of primary voters to what issues will bring voters to the polls, hear early insights from some of the best in the business: Stephanie Cutter, Obama White House staffer and founding partner of Precision; Shailagh Murray, former Washington Post reporter and deputy chief of staff to then-Vice President Biden; journalist Walter Shapiro, who has covered 11 presidential campaigns; and Alex Castellanos, a strategist for the Bush-Cheney and Romney-Ryan campaigns and founder of Purple Strategies; and moderated by Bakari Sellers, CNN political analyst and former U.S. representative, South Carolina (D). RSVP today
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Produced in partnership with New York University's John Brademas Center
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News
Michael Li on racial gerrymandering in Texas // TEXAS TRIBUNE
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Faiza Patel on Facebook’s blacklist double standard // INTERCEPT
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Harsha Panduranga on the power of DHS and its effects on people of color // NOWTHIS NEWS
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Michael Waldman on the need to prioritize voting rights // WASHINGTON POST
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