Brennan Center Work Related to State Legislatures

Threats to Elected Officials

• Intimidation of State and Local Officeholders: Report documents the increased intimidation and abuse of state and local officeholders and proposes solutions.
• Hostility and Abuse Threaten to Undermine Gains in Representative Democracy: Analysis shows that outsize threats to women, people of color, and young people may discourage them from serving in office.

Election Security

• Local Election Officials Survey — May 2024: Annual survey of local election officials finds ongoing concerns about safety.
• Securing the 2024 Election: Report recommends steps to ensure the 2024 election is safe and secure.
• Guns and Voting: Report evaluates protections against guns and armed intimidation at polling places. 

Artificial Intelligence

• States Take the Lead on Regulating Artificial Intelligence: Expert brief highlights trends in state legislation addressing AI.
• How Election Officials Can Identify, Prepare for, and Respond to AI Threats: Guide covers numerous scenarios involving AI, including fake images, video, and audio.
• AI and Elections: Series identifies the benefits and risks AI poses to American democracy and recommends steps the public and private sectors can take to address them.  

State Voting Laws and Voting Patterns

• Voting Laws Roundup: Detailed roundups track changes in state voting laws and identify trends.
• Racial Gaps in Voter Turnout Are Growing — and Undermining Democracy: Study finds a growing racial gap in voter turnout.

Safeguards Against Election Sabotage and Voter Suppression

• Legal Protections from Election Subversion and Voter Suppression: Resources detail state and federal laws protecting voters and election workers from intimidation, as well as rules governing poll workers and election observers.
• How States Can Prevent Election Subversion in 2024 and Beyond: Report explains how states can protect elections from interference.

Disinformation

• Noncitizens Are Not Voting in Federal or State Elections — Here’s Why: Analysis debunks the myth of noncitizen voting in elections.
• The Myth of Voter Fraud: Research debunks the myth of widespread voter fraud in elections.
• Myths and Facts About Crime and Justice Reform: Experts walk through myths and facts about crime rates and criminal justice reform, including the “migrant crime wave” and bail reform.

Public Campaign Financing

• Small Donor Public Financing Explained: Explainer details the benefits, popularity, and features of successful small donor public financing programs.
• Guide to Public Financing Programs Nationwide: Guide provides an overview of public financing programs nationwide.
• Guide: New York State’s Small Donor Public Financing System: Guide outlines New York State’s small donor public financing system.

Redistricting

• A Better Way to Draw Districts: Guide and model legislation show how to create independent redistricting commissions.
• Redistricting Litigation Roundup: Resource summarizes legal challenges to congressional and legislative maps drawn after the 2020 census.
• What Ohio’s ‘Citizens Not Politicians’ Redistricting Amendment Would Do: Explainer lays out what Ohio’s Citizens Not Politicians Amendment would do.
• Creating Strong Rules for Drawing Maps: Guide offers a model for strong rules for redistricting.

Pro-Democracy Reforms

• The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act: Fact sheet explains the provisions of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
• What the Freedom to Vote Act Would Do: Fact sheet explains the provisions of the Freedom to Vote Act.