Joanna Zdanys
@joannazdanys.bsky.social
Deputy Director, Elections and Government, Brennan Center for Justice. Adjunct professor of clinical law @ NYU Law. Mom of 2. Views my own, reposts aren’t endorsements.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Election Cybersecurity Summit: Protecting Democracy in a Shifting Landscape
Join Brennan Center, Common Cause New York, the New York City Bar Association’s Election Law Committee, and the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity and featuring
@sengonzalezny.bsky.social. Register:
Join Brennan Center, Common Cause New York, the New York City Bar Association’s Election Law Committee, and the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity and featuring
@sengonzalezny.bsky.social. Register:
Election Cybersecurity Summit: Protecting Democracy in a Shifting Landscape
Election officials, experts, and civic leaders discuss emerging threats to election infrastructure and an actionable framework to enhance security.
brennan.swoogo.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Election Cybersecurity Summit: Protecting Democracy in a Shifting Landscape
Join Brennan Center, Common Cause New York, the New York City Bar Association’s Election Law Committee, and the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity and featuring
@sengonzalezny.bsky.social. Register:
Join Brennan Center, Common Cause New York, the New York City Bar Association’s Election Law Committee, and the UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity and featuring
@sengonzalezny.bsky.social. Register:
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Congress may soon pass a moratorium on state regulation of Artificial Intelligence. The Brennan Center has found that the proposed moratorium could nullify at least 149 state laws passed in 41 states. 86 of these laws (58 percent) were enacted by states with Republican controlled legislatures. /1
There’s a provision nestled in President Trump's 1,000 page budget bill that could ban states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade. Learn how this would affect states’ laws: bit.ly/3SXup2Y
June 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Congress may soon pass a moratorium on state regulation of Artificial Intelligence. The Brennan Center has found that the proposed moratorium could nullify at least 149 state laws passed in 41 states. 86 of these laws (58 percent) were enacted by states with Republican controlled legislatures. /1
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
@vera.org just lost $5 million in federal funding for programs that help keep the public safe. They include a program that improves prison conditions, operations, and safety. The federal government should be supporting such initiatives, not ending them.
April 11, 2025 at 9:49 PM
@vera.org just lost $5 million in federal funding for programs that help keep the public safe. They include a program that improves prison conditions, operations, and safety. The federal government should be supporting such initiatives, not ending them.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
The 2020 election was secure thanks in part to the critical work of CISA. Chris Krebs, appointed by President Trump to head that agency, did his job and told the truth about the election. /1
April 9, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The 2020 election was secure thanks in part to the critical work of CISA. Chris Krebs, appointed by President Trump to head that agency, did his job and told the truth about the election. /1
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
NEW: What are sanctuary policies, and what role do they play in a federal system? In this must-read piece, @ilyasomin.bsky.social breaks down the constitutional basis for sanctuary laws and explores their value (and limitations) in combatting authoritarianism.
Sanctuary Policies in a Federal System
States and localities that restrict federal enforcement of immigration and gun laws protect diversity and help protect against authoritarianism.
statecourtreport.org
April 4, 2025 at 10:53 PM
NEW: What are sanctuary policies, and what role do they play in a federal system? In this must-read piece, @ilyasomin.bsky.social breaks down the constitutional basis for sanctuary laws and explores their value (and limitations) in combatting authoritarianism.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Happening Now: Ask @larrynorden.bsky.social & @danw329.bsky.social Anything About How to Protect Democracy From Big Money: bit.ly/42iwkTU
April 4, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Happening Now: Ask @larrynorden.bsky.social & @danw329.bsky.social Anything About How to Protect Democracy From Big Money: bit.ly/42iwkTU
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
We're suing the Trump administration. A recent executive order could keep millions of Americans from voting.
April 3, 2025 at 1:49 PM
We're suing the Trump administration. A recent executive order could keep millions of Americans from voting.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
A crucial question about the new tariffs is who will get exemptions. Without transparency and safeguards to prevent conflicts of interests, decisions to give or withhold exemptions are ripe for political interference and self-dealing. To understand why, read www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Uncovering Conflicts of Interest and Self-Dealing in the Executive Branch
The new administration could use federal contracts, tariffs, regulations, taxes, and other levers of government to benefit campaign donors, high-level officials, and the president himself.
www.brennancenter.org
April 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
A crucial question about the new tariffs is who will get exemptions. Without transparency and safeguards to prevent conflicts of interests, decisions to give or withhold exemptions are ripe for political interference and self-dealing. To understand why, read www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
We sued to stop Trump’s dangerous executive order on voting & elections. Presidents have no authority to set election rules—only Congress & the states do. And his attempt to require a passport or similar doc to register is flatly illegal & could block millions. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/cou...
League of Women Voters v. Trump
The Brennan Center and co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of civil rights and voting organizations challenging President Trump’s March 2025 executive order on elections.
www.brennancenter.org
April 1, 2025 at 11:49 AM
We sued to stop Trump’s dangerous executive order on voting & elections. Presidents have no authority to set election rules—only Congress & the states do. And his attempt to require a passport or similar doc to register is flatly illegal & could block millions. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/cou...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
As a prelude to Thursday's House vote, @WendyWeiser.bsky.social tells @DahliaLithwick.bsky.social, "Make no mistake, the SAVE Act is not an election integrity bill. It does nothing to improve election integrity. It is a vote suppression bill." slate.com/podcasts/ami...
Think All This Gets Fixed With The Midterms? Think Again
The midterms will be too late to tackle Trump’s extraordinary attempt at restricting voting.
slate.com
March 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
As a prelude to Thursday's House vote, @WendyWeiser.bsky.social tells @DahliaLithwick.bsky.social, "Make no mistake, the SAVE Act is not an election integrity bill. It does nothing to improve election integrity. It is a vote suppression bill." slate.com/podcasts/ami...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
ALL OF THIS.
The attack on DEI is simply a means of inculcating a shorthand for viewing all people of color and women in positions of authority as unqualified and undeserving.
The attack on DEI is simply a means of inculcating a shorthand for viewing all people of color and women in positions of authority as unqualified and undeserving.
Talked with @andersoncooper360.bsky.social about what is, and what IS NOT, DEI. And what Trump & his confederates are trying to accomplish with erasing the accomplishments of non-white people, women and LGBTQ people.
March 19, 2025 at 11:14 AM
ALL OF THIS.
The attack on DEI is simply a means of inculcating a shorthand for viewing all people of color and women in positions of authority as unqualified and undeserving.
The attack on DEI is simply a means of inculcating a shorthand for viewing all people of color and women in positions of authority as unqualified and undeserving.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
In the absence of hearings, evidence, or any other feature of due process, it is 100% inevitable that innocent people will be swept into these mass deportations and will find themselves trapped in some of the most hellish circumstances imaginable. 4/11 www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/a...
What we know about El Salvador’s ‘mega prison’ where Trump is sending alleged Venezuelan gang members | CNN
El Salvador’s Cecot mega-prison was notorious long before the Trump administration’s recent decision to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members there.
www.cnn.com
March 18, 2025 at 4:21 PM
In the absence of hearings, evidence, or any other feature of due process, it is 100% inevitable that innocent people will be swept into these mass deportations and will find themselves trapped in some of the most hellish circumstances imaginable. 4/11 www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/a...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
BREAKING: Trump illegally invokes the Alien Enemies Act to detain and deport Venezuelan immigrants “deemed” to be members of a criminal gang, claiming extreme powers to do so without due process. Courts should reject this abusive invocation of a law intended for wartime.
President Trump Illegally Invokes Alien Enemies Act; Brennan Center Reacts
President claims extreme, sweeping powers to detain and deport without due process under wartime law from 1798.
www.brennancenter.org
March 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
BREAKING: Trump illegally invokes the Alien Enemies Act to detain and deport Venezuelan immigrants “deemed” to be members of a criminal gang, claiming extreme powers to do so without due process. Courts should reject this abusive invocation of a law intended for wartime.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
The Alien Enemies Act proclamation is out. Obviously this is an illegal invocation of a wartime authority for peacetime immigration enforcement.
Many thoughts to come, but the first is that they messed up the drafting for what they're trying to accomplish.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Many thoughts to come, but the first is that they messed up the drafting for what they're trying to accomplish.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of
www.whitehouse.gov
March 15, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The Alien Enemies Act proclamation is out. Obviously this is an illegal invocation of a wartime authority for peacetime immigration enforcement.
Many thoughts to come, but the first is that they messed up the drafting for what they're trying to accomplish.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Many thoughts to come, but the first is that they messed up the drafting for what they're trying to accomplish.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Dusting off my old Oxford English Dictionary and consulting carefully, I could not find "attack friends and submit to enemies" as a definition of the word "strength."
March 1, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Dusting off my old Oxford English Dictionary and consulting carefully, I could not find "attack friends and submit to enemies" as a definition of the word "strength."
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
"Campaign financing made up of small contributions and the public matching funds they unlocked was 45% of overall funding in the 2024 cycle, whereas small contributions made up just 5% of campaign financing in prior cycles before the public funding was available." readsludge.com/2025/02/27/n...
New York Used a New Public Campaign Financing Program in 2024. How Did It Work?
The debut cycle of New York’s program more than doubled the participation of in-district small donors, according to a new study from the Brennan Center.
readsludge.com
February 27, 2025 at 11:57 PM
"Campaign financing made up of small contributions and the public matching funds they unlocked was 45% of overall funding in the 2024 cycle, whereas small contributions made up just 5% of campaign financing in prior cycles before the public funding was available." readsludge.com/2025/02/27/n...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
As Judge Griffin seeks to overturn the results of the N.C. Supreme Court race in court, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of 6 voters, US Vote Foundation, The Association of Americans Resident Overseas, arguing that these voters followed the rules in place & their votes should count bit.ly/41nj1kR
February 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM
As Judge Griffin seeks to overturn the results of the N.C. Supreme Court race in court, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of 6 voters, US Vote Foundation, The Association of Americans Resident Overseas, arguing that these voters followed the rules in place & their votes should count bit.ly/41nj1kR
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
You might think Trump's claim to economic populism would mean he'd like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His move to shut down the CFPB seems to align with what some of his biggest donors want. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
Who Benefits from Trump’s Move to Shut Down Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?
The decision to shutter the CFPB looks to be another example of the donor class holding sway over Washington.
www.brennancenter.org
February 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
You might think Trump's claim to economic populism would mean he'd like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His move to shut down the CFPB seems to align with what some of his biggest donors want. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
The SAVE Act’s impact on voter registration processes would affect tens of millions of Americans, including those who have ready access to their citizenship documents. Congress should reject it.
The SAVE Act Would Hurt Americans Who Actively Participate in Elections
Many voters who cast a ballot in 2020 wouldn’t be able to provide documents proving their citizenship under the SAVE Act. And even many who have the documents would have to find a new way to register ...
www.brennancenter.org
February 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The SAVE Act’s impact on voter registration processes would affect tens of millions of Americans, including those who have ready access to their citizenship documents. Congress should reject it.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Follow the money. Great resource from my colleague Eric Petry on how to identify conflicts of interest and self-dealing at a time that private wealth and political power has become even more concentrated and intertwined.
Uncovering Conflicts of Interest and Self-Dealing in the Executive Branch
The new administration could use federal contracts, tariffs, regulations, taxes, and other levers of government to benefit campaign donors, high-level officials, and the president himself.
www.brennancenter.org
February 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Follow the money. Great resource from my colleague Eric Petry on how to identify conflicts of interest and self-dealing at a time that private wealth and political power has become even more concentrated and intertwined.
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
Trump’s first weeks in office have been marked by disregard for the rule of law.
Join Brennan Center experts as they discuss what should happen next on Monday, Feb. 24, at 3pm ET. RSVP:
Join Brennan Center experts as they discuss what should happen next on Monday, Feb. 24, at 3pm ET. RSVP:
A Presidential Lawbreaking Spree
Brennan Center experts share perspectives on the Trump administration’s actions.
www.brennancenter.org
February 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Trump’s first weeks in office have been marked by disregard for the rule of law.
Join Brennan Center experts as they discuss what should happen next on Monday, Feb. 24, at 3pm ET. RSVP:
Join Brennan Center experts as they discuss what should happen next on Monday, Feb. 24, at 3pm ET. RSVP:
Reposted by Joanna Zdanys
"Tech billionaires, who already had enormous power, helped underwrite a winning presidential campaign in ways that would have been illegal just a few elections ago." — @larrynorden.bsky.social & @danw329.bsky.social on the rise of the "broligarchy" and what we can do about it
The Rise of America’s Broligarchy and What to Do About It
Campaign finance rules and checks on presidential power are collapsing just as leading tech giants have gained power.
time.com
February 12, 2025 at 12:48 PM
"Tech billionaires, who already had enormous power, helped underwrite a winning presidential campaign in ways that would have been illegal just a few elections ago." — @larrynorden.bsky.social & @danw329.bsky.social on the rise of the "broligarchy" and what we can do about it