Written testimony of Demos President K. Sabeel Rahman before the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
Our Constitution was designed to protect the institution of slavery and has led to the centuries-long assault on Black people and the ongoing struggle to secure the right to vote. This is why we put forth a proposal to finally, fully guarantee the right to vote.
At the Democratic National Convention, former First Lady Michelle Obama made a point that is relevant to both parties: If policymakers do not take bold and transformative action, trends can and will get worse.
We encourage states to update their procedures if they have not been providing voter registration opportunities as part of ex parte Medicaid renewals and SNAP benefit extensions.
Congress must address how Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people confront both the worst health outcomes and the greatest threats to household financial stability as a result of the pandemic.
Rather than cutting funds for public needs while allowing police budgets to swell, cities, states, and the federal government must shift funding to the real priorities of communities.
D.C. statehood is a critical racial justice and democracy issue. To move us closer to an inclusive, multiracial democracy, the House must pass, and the Senate immediately take up and pass, H.R. 51.
Many state officials are stubbornly clinging to outdated, unsafe election procedures. For the health of our communities and our democracy, they should commit themselves to the three pillars of our voting rights agenda.
This brief describes the challenges currently facing Black and brown people when voting by mail and presents policy recommendations at each step of the vote-by-mail process to mitigate those problems.
The ongoing devaluing of Black life that’s now on full display forces us to confront America’s racist origins and to uproot our systems of racial violence, economic subordination, and hoarding of political power.
A toolkit to help local leaders and communities identify and act on the warning signs of a wrongful purge and to understand how federal law restricts such purges.
We're all seeing systematic efforts to shift the economic and health risks of the pandemic from governments and employers and onto the backs of disproportionately Black and brown workers.
Our analysis of 2020 election data shows how COVID exposed the flaws in our current election system and disproportionately affected Black and brown voters in Milwaukee. All cities and counties should take note to pass the necessary policies to protect voters.
Now is a moment to fix longstanding inequities in our voting systems and build a more inclusive democracy, rather than solely seeking out emergency, short-term policy changes.
The three sets of steps policymakers and election officials must take to ensure that Black and brown Americans—and all Americans—can exercise their fundamental right to vote in 2020 and beyond.