Courts are a critical xxxxxx against abuses of power during elections. Now, as part of the unprecedented effort to undermine democracy, partisan state lawmakers are taking aim at state courts’ ability to ensure that the candidate who wins is actually the voters’ choice. Our updated analysis of legislative assaults on judicial independence shows an alarming new trend: in 2021, at least 9 states enacted 12 bills that target state courts for the role they played — or will play — in future election cases. Even more bills interfere with courts in other ways, on issues ranging from abotion to gun regulations. These measures, even if they never become law, send a chilling message to state courts: fall in line or become a political target.

State legislators are coming up with ever more creative ways to suppress the vote. Case in point: the Texas voter suppression law enacted this year. Among other things, it makes it harder to help voters with language barriers, makes room for harassment by partisan poll watchers, and restricts the use of mail voting and drop boxes. The Freedom to Vote Act, now pending in the Senate, would counteract the worst effects of such laws by creating national minimum standards designed to make it easier to vote.

America can’t quit its reliance on mass incarceration until we confront our approach to punishment. This year, the Brennan Center launched a series of expert essays to examine the current state of extreme criminal punishment and how we got here. They also offer ideas for a more just future. Addressing a range of issues — from policing to prosecution to incarceration to life after prison — the writers have highlighted how our nation has prioritized punishment over more supportive and less traumatic ways of dealing with social harm, especially for communities of color.

This year for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we published a series of essays from experts inside and outside the Brennan Center. The world has changed dramatically since the attacks, as have the challenges faced by our country. After two decades, we can see which national security strategies have and haven’t worked, but the government has been slow to learn these lessons. The essays offer big-picture looks at where policies went wrong and how to approach national security going forward.

How Civil Wars Start
Thursday, January 13 // 6–7 p.m. ET
The United States has long been known for its optimism. We trust that peace prevails, our institutions are unshakable, and our democracy is unbreakable. But in the past decade, America has undergone seismic changes in cultural and economic power that have created a fertile breeding ground for political violence. Brennan Center Fellow Michael German, a former FBI special agent and expert on domestic terrorism, discusses the dangers with Barbara F. Walter, author of the new book How Civil Wars Start And How to Stop Them. RSVP today.

No more excuses. Our democracy is under attack. The Senate must take voting rights seriously and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Read more on Instagram >>