The lawsuit aims to shed light on the government’s social media surveillance efforts. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
 
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Arizona remains a focal point in the voting rights struggle. A provision of a 2021 law will change the rules for the state’s popular permanent early voting list, which previously allowed voters to automatically receive mail ballots before every election. Although the new policy won’t be in effect for the midterms, voters will be booted off the mail voting list in the future if they go four years without casting a mail ballot — even if the state has no reason to think they’ve moved or are otherwise ineligible. A Brennan Center study finds that the new law puts Latino, Black, and Native American voters at far higher risk of being removed, underscoring how the ongoing wave of restrictive laws disproportionately impacts voters of color.
The Brennan Center sued the Department of Homeland Security last week to force it to hand over records on its use of various social media monitoring tools. The limited information available shows that DHS’s expanding surveillance efforts threaten First Amendment and privacy rights. At the same time, what we do know about this type of domestic spying shows that it is a wasteful use of resources as it does not meaningfully contribute to security. The public has a right to know exactly what the department is doing, and this lawsuit aims to ensure accountability and safeguard against discriminatory and invasive online monitoring practices.
North Carolina legislators are asking the Supreme Court to reinstate gerrymandered congressional maps that were deemed unconstitutional and thrown out by the state supreme court. Their argument rests on the radical “independent state legislature theory,” which claims that state legislatures have near-absolute power over federal elections. Our new explainer details the potentially disastrous consequences for our democracy if the Supreme Court endorses this meritless theory.
Americans have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the political system and the state of our democracy. The key to remedying this may lie in a process called participatory budgeting, which allows residents to decide how a portion of their local government’s money is spent. Using interviews with people who have been involved in these processes across the United States and Canada, a new Brennan Center resource outlines what participatory budgeting entails and how it can enhance civic engagement and government decision-making.
President Biden’s recently announced Accelerating Justice System Reform program will use federal funds to incentivize cities, counties, and states to reduce their reliance on imprisonment and pursue effective alternatives that preserve public safety. The Brennan Center has long advocated for this kind of redirection of federal dollars to reset our justice system to one of safety and fairness for all. This program is a crucial step toward the goal of dismantling mass incarceration.

 

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If victory in congressional redistricting is defined as guaranteeing control of the House, the latest cycle could be considered something of a draw. Read more on Instagram >>