Despite a procedural vote yesterday to block debate on the Freedom to Vote Act in the Senate, the bill is still crucial to securing our democracy — particularly as states across the country attempt to gerrymander away the emerging multifracial America, blocking communities from representation for partisan gain. The House has already passed a version of the Freedom to Vote Act, and a majority of the Senate supports the legislation. Senate procedure must not stand in the way of keeping voting and elections fair.

Discussions around new proposed voting district maps center too much on partisan politics and forget the importance of maps representing real changes in communities. The Brennan Center’s new series of state-level analyses of demographic changes and redistricting examines the state of map drawing in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. As new legislative and congressional maps are released, we must pay close attention to whether they will work to reflect population growth or undermine fair representation for at least a decade.

Last year, in the face of a global pandemic and stunning political pressure, election officials used their rulemaking authority to adapt, conducting an election that experts call the most secure in American history. But state legislatures are punishing election officials by passing laws to limit that authority, placing a central facet of their work at risk. If officials can’t work flexibly to protect voting rights, complement legislation, and respond effectively to crises, countless voters could lose out on full and fair access to the ballot.

After a decade of declining to hear a major Second Amendment case, the Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in a lawsuit against a New York gun law that’s been on the books for over a century. The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, has the potential to both change how all Second Amendment cases are tried in the future as well as unsettle precedent, opening existing gun restrictions up to legal challenges.

Last month, members of Congress reintroduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act, an essential package of ethics reforms that would formalize and enforce regulations on behavior for the president and other government officials. Former New Jersey governor and EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, co-chairs of the Brennan Center’s National Task Force on Rule of Law and Democracy, explain essential components of the legislation and the urgency that makes it necessary. Many of the law’s requirements have previously been held as norms, not rules, and our democracy has suffered for it.

Several bills are being considered in Congress that would reform mandatory minimum sentencing rules, which exacerbate mass incarceration and perpetuate a criminal legal system based on racism and dehumanization. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have mandatory minimum laws on the books, despite an array of data on the subject showing that these policies place undue power in prosecutors’ hands and fail to promote community safety. In the latest essay in our Punitive Excess series, University of Chicago Law School professor Alison Siegler argues that a paradigm shift is needed.

White Space, Black Hood: Segregation in the Age of Inequality
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.

The Midterms: What to Expect Next November and Beyond
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: Alex Castellanos, a strategist for the Bush-Cheney and Romney campaigns and co-founder of Purple Strategies; 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; and journalist Walter Shapiro, who has covered 11 presidential campaigns. The conversation will be moderated by Bakari Sellers, CNN political analyst and former U.S. Representative, South Carolina (D). RSVP today.

States are drawing new legislative districts using data from the 2020 Census, and gerrymandering is sure to follow. Read more on Instagram >>