The Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and the president has virtually no role in the process. Yet President Trump ignored this fact and issued an executive order in March that aims to overhaul the nation’s election systems. His administration is dismantling a federal agency responsible for protecting election security. And it has targeted and threatened election officials and others who keep elections free and fair, while supporting those who undermine elections, including the January 6 rioters.

A new report from the Brennan Center connects the dots between these unprecedented, and in some cases illegal, moves.

Listen to host Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center discuss the report’s findings with Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program and Jasleen Singh, Counsel, Voting Rights and Elections Program.

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Recorded on September 18, 2025.

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing.

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Challenges to democracy intensified over the summer. The National Guard deployed in California. The Supreme Court ruled on presidential power using the shadow docket. In Texas, an egregious gerrymander has set off a partisan war nationally. Now the fall will mark the next phase of the fight for the Constitution. Will the rule of law hold? How will the 2026 election unfold?

Brennan Center experts discuss some of the biggest news stories of the past three months and explore what will come next in the struggle to uphold democratic values.

Speakers:

• Kareem Crayton, Vice President for Washington, DC

• Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Senior Director, Justice Program

• Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program

• Hernandez Stroud, Senior Fellow, Justice Program

• Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy Program

• Daniel I. Weiner, Director, Elections and Government Program

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating.

Recorded on September 4, 2025.

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing.

In 1965, a nonviolent voting rights march in Alabama culminated in a brutal televised brutal attack by state police. The public outrage that followed prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, a law meant to dismantle racially discriminatory barriers to voting. Since then, this landmark civil rights law has faced continued attacks. The Supreme Court has weakened its protections, most notably in the 2013 case Shelby County v. Holder. And just this summer, a lower court ruling in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe blocked voters in seven states from using the Voting Rights Act to challenge racially discriminatory voting practices.

The Supreme Court has put that decision on hold for the moment while it considers whether to take up the case. But the very fact that we're celebrating a pause on the near destruction of the Voting Rights Act’s last remaining protection illustrates how bad things have gotten in the courts. Thankfully, courts don’t have the only say. The 15th Amendment gives Congress the power to safeguard the right to vote through legislation. This conversation explores the history of the Voting Rights Act, its impact on voters today, and what it will take to ensure fair representation for all.

Speakers:

• Alexander Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

• Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Program

• Lenny Powell, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund

• Nikema Williams, U.S. Representative (D-GA)

• Moderator: Natalie Tennant, Kanawha County Commissioner; Former West Virginia Secretary of State

  
  

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating.

Recorded on August 19, 2025.
Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing.