More than 80 percent of the voting systems used in the United States are under the purview of three vendors — and a successful cyberattack against any of these three companies could have devastating consequences for elections, according to a report released today by the Brennan Center. Private companies also supply and service other systems essential for free and fair elections, such as voter registration databases and electronic pollbooks. But these vendors receive little or no federal review, which leaves elections vulnerable to attack. The Brennan Center report proposes a new framework for oversight of the nation’s election infrastructure and pushes for stronger standards for election vendors. // Read More

The Brennan Center and Troutman Sanders LLP filed a friend-of-the-court brief last week in a federal lawsuit that aims to get rid of paperless voting machines Tennessee. The lawsuit, brought by local voters, argues that the machines undermine election integrity because they cannot be reliably audited. The brief was filed on behalf of 13 current and former election officials in 10 states. It explains that when the paperless machines are used, there is a substantial risk for votes to be counted improperly, and an effective audit or recount are impossible. // Read More

Last week Democrats won control of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly for the first time in a generation. They also control the governor’s mansion. Already there has been early buzz about how they might use their new trifecta to enact reforms such as automatic voter registration. But paradoxically, the election has also created a potential opportunity for Democrats to be unprincipled on redistricting reform. Will Democrats, with the unexpected chance to draw maps in 2021 without GOP involvement, remain as committed to redistricting reform as they were when government control was divided? // Read More

Law enforcement officers and federal agencies increasingly monitor social media both in criminal investigations and for general surveillance, raising concerns about abuse and overreach. Additionally, such monitoring tends to disproportionately affect historically overpoliced communities, especially communities of color. Social media monitoring can also lead to police presence and surveillance at protests and other First Amendment–protected activities. The Brennan Center and other groups released last week a joint statement that spells out the civil rights and civil liberties implications of law enforcement monitoring of social media. // Read More

In the 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court struck down two Washington, DC, laws governing handguns in the home. Justice Antonin Scalia asserted that handguns should receive maximal protection because they are “the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense in the home.” However, Brennan Center Fellow Eric Ruben argues that Heller relied on an unsupported assumption about handgun popularity — an issue that could reemerge next month when the Supreme Court hears arguments in its first major Second Amendment case in a decade. // Read More

A whistleblower complaint about President Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine, in which he asked for help investigating a political rival, has culminated in an official impeachment inquiry. But the fact that the whistleblower’s complaint ever made it to Congress may have had more to do with good fortune than good law. “We’re very lucky,” said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program. The whistleblower could easily have been thwarted in his or her attempts to sound an alarm, she said. That’s because “the law that supposedly protects intelligence community whistleblowers is such a mess.” // WhoWhatWhy

• Elizabeth Goitein on the risks faced by whistleblowers in the intelligence community // Vox
• Rachel Levinson-Waldman on the problems with social media monitoring by schools // MinnPost
• Faiza Patel on new efforts by the FBI and federal prosecutors to combat domestic terrorism by white nationalist groups // New York Times
• Faiza Patel on the role of Internet freedom and privacy in maintaining free societies // Washington Post
• Myrna Pérez on recently passed voting laws that will make it harder for citizens to vote // Matter of Fact
• Michael Waldman on impeachment proceedings and presidential history // Estudio DC