Mekela Panditharatne serves as senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program, focusing on election security and administration, governance, voting, truth, and information. She has also spearheaded initiatives related to technology and democracy.
Panditharatne was previously an attorney with Earthjustice, where she engaged in a wide range of federal litigation and policy work. She served as counsel for Native American tribes challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the Line 3 pipeline and was counsel for the NAACP in a lawsuit seeking stronger federal standards for lead in water. She also served as lead counsel on a federal Civil Rights Act matter, successfully guaranteeing the right of Spanish-language and immigrant communities to participate in environmental decision-making in Texas.
Panditharatne’s writing has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and NBC News. She has coauthored nationally recognized reports, and her writing has been entered into the Congressional Record in Congress.
