The 2016 elections revealed deepening threats to American values and government — brazen voter suppression, dark money, gerrymandering, and threats to election security and the norms of democracy. With the 2020 elections fast approaching, candidates will need to explain how they will reform voting systems and prioritize democracy and criminal justice reform. In an effort to spark these conversations before the second Democratic primary debate kicks off tonight, the Brennan Center outlines ten solutions that would make our elections fairer and freer, transform our criminal justice system to end mass incarceration, and make our institutions of governance more responsive to the people. // Read More

A new Brennan Center report, State Supreme Court Diversity, found a stark lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity on state supreme courts. This is particularly concerning because state courts as a whole hear 95 percent of all cases filed in the United States. The report revealed that nearly half of all states do not have a single justice sitting on their high courts who is Black, Asian, Latino, or Native American. It also discovered that women hold only 36 percent of the seats on top state courts. “This lack of diversity creates a legitimacy crisis for the justice system,” write report authors Alicia Bannon and Laila Robbins in an op-ed for the New York Times. “For the courts to command legitimacy, they must first reflect the richness of America’s diversity.” // New York Times

The 2020 presidential candidates have the chance to shape the conversation on criminal justice reform in the United States. Former Vice President Joe Biden last week became the latest candidate to announce a criminal justice platform that focuses on ending mass incarceration. His platform, which cites the Brennan Center’s proposal for a Reverse Mass Incarceration Act, includes a plan to create a new grant program that would provide federal funding for states to shift from incarceration to prevention. Another 2020 presidential candidate, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, co-sponsored the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act in May 2019. // Read More

Since the passage of the First Step Act, which included significant federal sentencing reforms, advocates have voiced concerns about oversight and funding for its implementation. But the law got a recent boost when the Justice Department confirmed that it would redirect $75 million from existing programs to fund the First Step Act through the end of September, while unveiling a new tool that helps individuals earn credits toward an earlier release date. Justice Department officials also announced that more than 3,100 people would be released from federal prisons across the country due to a change in how good-behavior time is calculated. // Read More

Congress took a step toward preventing the abuse of presidential emergency powers last week when a Senate committee approved a bill to reform the National Emergencies Act. The measure won six Republican and six Democratic votes (with only two GOP senators objecting). Under the new bill, known as the Article One Act, when a president declares a national emergency, Congress must vote to approve it within 30 days — or it would automatically expire. “This bill represents a major step toward reclaiming some of the power Congress had delegated away to the president, and thus restoring the proper balance of powers,” said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program. // Read More

• Tonight and tomorrow night, CNN hosts the second round of the 2020 Democratic presidential debates.

• Lauren-Brooke Eisen on the impact of the 1994 crime bill on sentencing laws in the United States // ABC News
• Lawrence Norden and Daniel Weiner on how Congress can help protect U.S. elections from foreign interference // Foreign Affairs
• Michael Waldman on Robert Mueller’s testimony and the ongoing threat on foreign election interference // WNYC // NY1