Wednesday, January 19, 6–7 p.m. ET
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Donald Trump’s Big Lie isn’t just about what the defeated president felt or did, but rather the impact of his actions on American democracy and millions of voters. In conversation with NYU Law professor Melissa Murray, Michael Waldman (Brennan Center president and author of The Fight to Vote) tracks the current wave of voting restrictions sweeping statehouses around the country in the context of the nation’s history of voting rights — from the Founders’ debates to the civil rights era.

Speakers: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center; Author, The Fight to Vote and The Second Amendment: A Biography // Moderator: Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, NYU School of Law

Tuesday, January 25, 7–8 p.m. ET
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In The People’s Constitution, Wilfred U. Codrington III and John F. Kowal present an alternative history to our founding document and a vital guide to our national charter. They introduce all of the Constitution’s framers: not just the Framers but “the visionaries and gadflies whose passion and perseverance helped ensure that our national charter could change with the times through periodic infusions of popular input.” That history, they argue, “has been, for the most part, an inspiring story of progressive legal change, driven by powerful social movements and an evolving array of civil society organizations.” But in our fractured, hyper-partisan politics of today, are we still able to amend the Constitution?

Speakers: Wilfred U. Codrington III, Fellow, Brennan Center; Co-author, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union; John F. Kowal, Vice President of Programs, Brennan Center; Co-author, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union

Thursday, January 27, 6–7 p.m. ET
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The right to vote has erupted as a power struggle between states and the federal government in the wake of the 2020 election, but who really wields the power? The Constitution’s Elections Clause paints a clear picture of the broad authority given to Congress to formulate election rules. But the far-right is now seeking to contort the little-known clause to justify their voter suppression and election subversion plots.

Join us as Brennan Center President Michael Waldman leads a panel of an election scholar and a historian to break down the Elections Clause and explore what the future of voting — and the fight over it — will look like as we approach the midterm elections.

Speakers: Franita Tolson, Vice Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Professor of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Rosemarie Zagarri, University Professor and Professor of History, George Mason University; Author, The Politics of Size: Representation in the United States, 1776–1812 // Moderator: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center