In the Press

Stay informed about threats to our democracy and how we’re working to return it to safer footing. Use the drop-down menu to organize by work theme.

The Hill Logo

Trump’s threats to Milley fuel fears he’ll seek vengeance in second term (opens a new window)

  • September 27, 2023
  • The Hill

Kristy Parker, a legal counsel at Protect Democracy who leads litigation on abuses of power and interference with government functions, said Trump’s comments about Milley are “deeply troubling” for American democracy.

“Even just the threats have an incredibly chilling effect on public actors’ ability to do the jobs we need them to do to have a functional democracy,” she said.

“Trump has shown and talked about weaponizing the Justice Department to retaliate against people who he perceives as his enemies and he did, in fact, do that to people when he was president the first time.”

Albuquerque Journal Logo

Abusing emergency powers is a slide toward authoritarianism (opens a new window)

  • September 19, 2023
  • Albuquerque Journal

In this opinion piece, Genevieve Nadeau, Kristy Parker and Aisha Woodward argue that the use of emergency powers as an end-run around the normal legislative process is common in the slide toward authoritarianism. Normalizing the abuse of these powers at any level carries serious risk for our democracy, whatever the intent.

Bolts Magazine Logo

Different Futures For Pennsylvania Elections Collide in November’s Supreme Court Race (opens a new window)

  • September 15, 2023
  • Bolts Magazine

It will be tested again, they say.

“People can get burnt out on it being the apocalypse every time,” said Kyle Miller, who recently authored a report for the nonprofit organization Protect Democracy on legal challenges in Pennsylvania. “This court oversees the real, basic infrastructure of our electoral process. It’s really important that the folks ruling on these cases support democracy and recognize that voters want their voices heard.”

Philadelphia Inquirer Logo

A Pa. Supreme Court race this fall could have big implications for the 2024 presidential election (opens a new window)

  • September 10, 2023
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer

PAYWALL: Voting rights advocates expect similar challenges in next year’s election, especially if there is a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. “If we see similar trends to what we saw in 2020, the state Supreme Court is going to be vital,” said Kyle Miller, a policy advocate in Pennsylvania for Protect Democracy.

Fulcrum Logo

Election reform bills face a long, difficult road in Congress (opens a new window)

  • August 30, 2023
  • The Fulcrum

Alexandra Chandler, who leads elections and voting rights efforts at the national level for Protect Democracy, agreed.

“There is a path on election funding, I truly believe,” she said, citing a recent request from Michigan election officials who asked Congress to provide $400 million for election management. President Biden suggested in March that Congress allocate $15 billion over 10 years for election assistance nationwide.

How Florida law could trip up Trump if he’s convicted before the 2024 election (opens a new window)

  • August 29, 2023
  • CNN

By raising their hands to indicate they would back Trump even if he’s found guilty of a crime, the six other Republicans continued the party’s yearslong pattern of normalizing and excusing behavior from Trump that threatens the underpinnings of American democracy and the rule of law, said Ian Bassin, co-founder and executive director of Protect Democracy, a non-partisan group. “What does it do to a country and democracy when its ostensible leaders not only abdicate the role they are supposed to play as a bulwark against authoritarianism, against the dismantling of the system and undermining of institutions, but they actually validate the behavior of those that would undermine our republic?”

11th Circuit takes up challenge to Stop WOKE Act limitations on workplace training (opens a new window)

  • August 24, 2023
  • Courthouse News Service

Arguing on behalf of the employers, attorney Shalini Agarwal of the nonprofit Protect Democracy Project, said the real-world application of the law could be complicated. The attorney questioned whether a speaker might be said to endorse a concept if they smile while discussing it.

“It’s impossible to know. It would depend on the factfinder,” Agarwal said. “The impossibility of figuring out that line is the easiest and simplest way of disposing of the case.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution Logo

‘2000 Mules’ voter fraud movie lands in court in defamation suit (opens a new window)

  • August 24, 2023
  • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

False accusations of voter fraud smeared an Atlanta-area auditor who was shown in the conspiracy movie “2000 Mules” when he legally delivered five absentee ballots for his family, his lawyers said in federal court Thursday.

A federal judge considered the defamation lawsuit hours before Donald Trump, who has said he would use the movie in his defense against racketeering charges, turned himself in 4 miles away at the Fulton County Jail.