Publications
Democracy
Design Deficiencies and Lost Votes
In 2010, tens of thousands of votes in New York did not count due to overvotes — the invalid selection of more than one candidate. This report demonstrates how the lack of adequate overvote protections disproportionately affected the state's poorest communities, suggests commonsense reforms, and examines national implications.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden and Sundeep Iyer
– 12/05/11
The New Politics of Judicial Elections: 2009-10
How special interest "Super Spenders" threatened impartial justice and emboldened unprecedented legislative attacks on America's courts.
Authored by: the Brennan Center for Justice, Justice at Stake Campaign, and the National Institute of Money in State Politics
– 10/26/11
Voting Law Changes in 2012
Ahead of the 2012 elections, a wave of legislation tightening restrictions on voting has suddenly swept across the country. This Brennan Center guide details both the bills that have been proposed and the legislation that has been passed since the beginning of 2011.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser and Lawrence Norden
– 10/03/11
Promoting Fair and Impartial Courts through Recusal Reform
To assist state courts in responding to the need for recusal reform, the Brennan Center for Justice has collected model rules that provide a blueprint for state implementation.
Authored by: Adam Skaggs and Andrew Silver
– 08/08/11
A 50 State Guide to Redistricting
This supplement to the Brennan Center's Citizen's and Media Guides to Redistricting contains simple and accessible information on how the redistricting process is conducted in each of the 50 states.
– 05/23/11
Money, Politics, and the Constitution: Beyond Citizens United
Top Constitutional scholars launch a new jurisprudence to curb the rise of unfettered money in politics post-Citizens United. What is next for the First Amendment? And how can we advance a vision of the Constitution as a charter for a vibrant, participatory democracy?
Authored by: The Brennan Center for Justice and The Century Foundation
– 04/28/11
Know Your Lines: A Visual Redistricting Primer
The Brennan Center has teamed up with the Center for Urban Pedagogy and the talented designers at We Have Photoshop to produce Know Your Lines, an informative fold-out poster that explains with words and demonstrates with engaging graphics what the redistricting process is and why it's important.
– 04/18/11
A Report Card on New York’s Civic Literacy
Without civic literacy we cannot maintain a vigorous democracy, but as multiple national studies and our findings in this report all demonstrate, few Americans have the requisite knowledge to engage in a democratic policy discussion. Few know anything about the three branches of government, their functions, or how an idea becomes a law. We urgently need a public commitment to science and math education of the sort that propelled us to our space race victory, putting men on the moon along the way.
Authored by: Eric Lane & Meg Barnette
– 04/13/11
A Media Guide to Redistricting
This guide provides members of the media with information and tools to open the doors and bring public awareness to a process that is frequently obscure and opaque. The Guide offers a comprehensive yet comprehensible discussion of redistricting issues, information on how redistricting is conducted in each state, and comparison charts of various redistricting methods. We all have an obligation to try to crack open the doors of the process. There is a tremendous story to be told, and the media can play a vital role in telling it.
Authored by: Erika Wood & Myrna Pérez
– 03/07/11
Transparent Elections after Citizens United
Where do disclosure laws stand post-Citizens United? What does the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling mean for state-based laws? And are disclosure laws constitutionally sound? This report examines these questions and urges transparency through modest changes to state-based election laws.
Authored by: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
– 03/01/11