In the Press

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Politifact Logo

Joe Biden drops out, endorses Kamala Harris. How do the Democrats choose a 2024 nominee now? (opens a new window)

  • July 21, 2024
  • Politifact

The National Task Force on Election Crises, a bipartisan group of election law experts, academics and former officials, called state ballot access laws “no obstacle” for a nominee other than Biden in a statement.

“The ballot line belongs to the Democratic Party — it does not belong to Joe Biden,” said New York University law professor Richard Pildes. “So as long as the party nominates its candidate by the end of the dates scheduled for the convention, there is no issue.”

Giuliani has ‘no regrets’ about defaming 2020 election workers (opens a new window)

  • July 16, 2024
  • CNN

The mother and daughter were represented pro bono by a prominent law firm and an advocacy group called Protect Democracy, which has pursued Giuliani and others who tried to subvert the 2020 election.

Their case provided a searing glimpse into the harassment election workers suffered while prominent Trump supporters spread lies about the 2020 election.

People of faith mobilize when our country needs us. This year, democracy needs us. (opens a new window)

  • July 16, 2024
  • Religion News Service

In this opinion piece, Jennifer Walker Thomas and Protect Democracy’s Chris Crawford write that “election officials across the country are everyday people like you and me who live in the communities that they serve. Right now, they are ramping up to ensure that our elections are free and fair. This year they need our help to make that happen. Our nation needs poll workers, and as two people of faith from different traditions living in different parts of the country, we believe that communities of faith should lead the way. Aug. 1, National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, offers an easy opportunity for us to step up to do our part.”

The Hill Logo

Trump and his allies are completely wrong about impoundments (opens a new window)

  • July 13, 2024
  • The Hill

In this op-ed, William Hoagland and Protect Democracy’s William Ford argue that “if reelected, former President Trump will assert sweeping power to withhold money that Congress has appropriated. His allies are pushing unilateral cuts to an array of programs, for which Trump will ‘simply choke off the money.’ His administration would do this at a massive scale, targeting ‘large chunks’ of federal agencies’ budgets.

All of this would happen in defiance of federal law — namely the Impoundment Control Act. Passed in 1974, the law requires the president to comply with appropriations laws and spend federal funds, unless he gets approval from Congress to do otherwise.

The Guardian Logo

How Georgia state election board’s proposed rules make it easier to challenge results (opens a new window)

  • July 12, 2024
  • The Guardian

The “petitions contain provisions that, if adopted, would create a significant risk of delay in counties certifying election results”, said Peter J Simmons, state policy advocate at Protect Democracy. “Any such delays could quickly endanger the ability to meet not only the post-election deadlines imposed by state law, but also the new federal deadlines for certification created by the Electoral Count Reform Act.

“Honestly, that appears to be the intent of these proposals – to create opportunities for delay and confusion, and to sow further distrust of our election system,” he added.

Washington Post Logo

GOP jump-starts 2024 election challenges with Trump-inspired lawsuits (opens a new window)

  • July 10, 2024
  • The Washington Post

“This is how you build a story that enables political interference in the post-election process,” said Jess Marsden, a lawyer with the nonprofit Protect Democracy who oversees litigation and advocacy around voting rights.

Trump’s demands for the RNC to take more action on supposed ballot fraud was a key factor in the departure in March of national chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Trump handpicked her successor, Michael Whatley, and as co-chair selected his daughter-in-law Lara Trump. They took over the central committee with an explicit emphasis on expanding “election integrity” lawsuits and monitoring.

“Some folks need killing!”: It’s time to take MAGA threats of violence literally and seriously (opens a new window)

  • July 8, 2024
  • Salon

As Kristy Parker, former federal prosecutor and counsel at Protect Democracy told the “Daily Blast” podcast, even with this new “immunity” ruling by the Supreme Court legalizing most — if not all — crimes committed by (Republican) presidents, there are still lingering limits on what illegal actions Trump could take in office. For instance, Trump’s wild threat to falsify charges of “TREASON” against former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for daring to speak out against him.

Return of books to school shelves sought (opens a new window)

  • July 6, 2024
  • WFTV

The plaintiffs include parents, five authors, the publishing company Penguin Random House and the free speech group PEN American Center, Inc. They are represented by the legal advocacy group Protect Democracy Project and the Ballard Spahr LLP firm.

The lawsuit has played out amid controversy in Florida and other states about school officials removing or restricting access to books. As a sign of the controversy, Gov. Ron DeSantis in April signed a bill aimed at limiting book challenges filed by people who don’t have children in public schools, saying some people who filed mass objections to books made a “mockery” of the process.

Europe Has a New Role as U.S. Strategy Shifts to China (opens a new window)

  • July 5, 2024
  • Foreign Policy

In a recent joint report, the States United Democracy Center, Protect Democracy, and Law Forward warned about a democracy crisis in the making in the United States. Others argue that the erosion of the U.S. middle class is leading to a more nationalist economic policy. Trumpism has boosted the Republican Party’s existing opposition to multilateralism, further increasing the likelihood that the United States will act unilaterally at the expense of the U.N. framework and other multilateral institutions. A reduced commitment to what has been a jointly upheld order would not only diminish Washington’s ties with Europe but weaken the United States.