More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a liberal nonprofit law and public policy institute.
In Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court has invited argument on whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Put another way, the Court will tell us whether this civil rights landmark and its decades of progress in securing the right to vote are to be reaffirmed or cast aside.
The coming months will test what is left of the Supreme Court’s credibility. On presidential power, on voting rights, on campaign finance and more, our democracy is on the line.
Much of the practical damage has already been done. But so much is still on the line. Will our country’s checks and balances hold?
The 19th Amendment turned 105 this week. Instead of marking progress, we’re watching Trump officials entertain the idea that women’s right to vote is negotiable. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified a pastor calling for repeal of the amendment, and when pressed, his office issued a half-hearted “of course” women should vote. We’ve seen this playbook before: Roe was safe, contraception wasn’t at risk—until both were.
Trump himself piled on this week, vowing to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterms. He can’t legally do it, but the threat is the point. Combined with the SAVE Act, which could disenfranchise married women who changed their names, the message is clear.
The anniversary of women’s suffrage is not just history—it’s a warning flare. The right to vote is under attack, and the fight this time is for all the marbles.
Will voters have the final say in 2026?
In recent years, despite the pandemic, violence and intense pressure, American elections were secure and their results were reported accurately. Election officials worked together across party lines. The system held.
This year, however, a new threat to free and fair elections has emerged: the federal government itself.
It’s now clear that the Trump administration has launched a campaign to undermine American elections. An important new Brennan Center analysis uses the facts to connect the dots. All of this is unprecedented. It’s often illegal. It’s alarming. And it has begun to unfold in plain sight.
Ultimately, it will be up to voters. It’s harder to rig an election when people are watching—and shouting. High turnout can overwhelm chicanery.
Here are six things to know about partisan gerrymandering and how it impacts our democracy:
1. Gerrymandering is deeply undemocratic.
2. There are multiple ways to gerrymander.
3. Gerrymandering has a real impact on the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures.
4. Gerrymandering affects all Americans, but its most significant costs are borne by communities of color.
5. Gerrymandering is getting worse.
6. Federal reform can help counter gerrymandering—so Congress needs to act.
As the Senate considers the SAVE Act, some state legislators are trying to replicate the bill’s restrictive show-your-papers requirements for voter registration.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 25 that aims to illegally overhaul and take control of major parts of the nation’s election systems. He claimed extraordinary unilateral authority to regulate federal elections and usurp the powers of Congress, the states and an independent bipartisan federal agency. This violates the Constitution and various federal laws. If implemented, the order could disenfranchise millions of American citizens, compromise the security of sensitive personal data, and disrupt election administration across the country.
What would the executive order on elections do? Is the executive order legal? Is this executive order the same as the SAVE Act?
The losing candidate for a seat on the high court is trying to have more than 60,000 valid votes thrown out.
In a dispute that is attracting national attention, Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court and judge on the state intermediate court, is seeking to invalidate more than 60,000 votes and overturn the electoral win of his opponent, Justice Allison Riggs.
The dispute stems from November’s state supreme court election, which Griffin lost by just 734 votes. The crux of Griffin’s argument is a claim that the state board of elections has been breaking state election law for decades by following an incorrect process for registering voters, including failing to require voters to provide a driver’s license or social security information and wrongfully allowing certain overseas and absentee ballots to be submitted without photo identification.
Rewarding people who tried to ignite an insurrection turns the pardon power on its head.
Trump’s pardons are not about people and their communities—they are about personal loyalty to him. Trump summoned these individuals to the Capitol to support him and now he will pardon them to complete that transaction. Trump will use the pardon power to make it clear that violence and violation of the law can be forgiven in service to himself.
Citizens can vote in 2024 with confidence. Despite the noise and lies and melodrama, voting will likely be uneventful for the vast majority of Americans.
But even as we grow more confident about Election Day, it is increasingly clear that partisans plan to disrupt the counting and undermine trust after the votes are cast.