In introducing Abrams, ACS member @jamandell notes that when the work of democracy seems daunting, @staceyabrams inspires! #ACS2020
Our collective mission is to ensure the integrity of our democracy, says @staceyabrams. We are at our strongest when every vote can be counted and every voice can be heard. #ACS2020
Abrams: We know that 21st century voter suppression does not look like 20th century suppression. Today it is a labyrinth of laws and rules and administrative hurdles. #ACS2020
What happened in Georgia was a combination of malfeasance and incompetence. Both of which are curable problems. @staceyabrams speaking at #ACS2020
The policies of our nation reinforce either the best that we are or the worst we can be. My challenge to you is to help us be the best that we can be. @staceyabrams#ACS2020
We need to work to sign people up long before the November elections - we need to be doing this work now so that people know their rights and are involved in the process. @staceyabrams#ACS2020#Election2020
Elections at a time of global panic are not unprecedented, we know from these experiences that we need to plan for successful elections - they don't just happen on their own, @ProfTolson#ACS2020
In their decision on the Wisconsin primary, #SCOTUS made it more difficult to make sure that people were able to vote -- @ProfTolson#ACS2020
.@JocelynBenson --Michigan has had 2 elections this year and we didn't postpone, because even in times of great uncertainty we need to be able to be certain that elections will be held. #ACS2020
.@JocelynBenson -- 99% of voters who participated in Michigan's May 5th elections participated in vote by mail. By ensuring people had safe choices of how to vote, we demonstrated how to run an election during a pandemic. #ACS2020
.@JocelynBenson describes the 3 pillars to a successful election:
✅(1) infrastructure to distribute and count ballots,
✅(2) robust voter education on how to ensure your vote is counted,
✅(3) campaign to counter misinformation. #ACS2020
Thomas Saenz of @MALDEF: November is important not just for federal elections, but people who win at the state level this year will decide our congressional districts and boundaries for the next 10 years #census2020#ACS2020
Saenz: We need to put mechanisms in place to make sure legitimate vote-by-mail ballots are counted -- ballots should be counted based on when they are mailed, not when they are delivered. #ACS2020#Election2020
Saenz: This is the second presidential decision post-Shelby County, which means we need to rely on people in the community to identify voter suppression and bring it to our attention so we can challenge them in court. #ACS2020
.@JocelynBenson -- Mailing absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in Michigan has helped our voter education effort by making sure voters know their options of how to vote in November. #ACS2020#Election2020
.@ProfTolson -- We need to pivot to this new reality where we will not know who the winner is on Election night. It may take several days. #ACS2020#Election2020
The death of George Floyd has led people to recognize that to have meaningful systemic change you need to protest and you need to vote. -- @ProfTolson#ACS2020
Saenz: In Texas you can only vote by mail in limited circumstances and Texas courts have said that fear of a pandemic is not a sufficient reason to vote by mail. We need to fix that. #Elections2020#ACS2020
.@JocelynBenson -- The more choices you give voters the better -- robust vote-by-mail, early voting, and safe in-person Election Day options are all needed. #Election2020#ACS2020
Saenz of @MALDEF : We all need to equip ourselves and be ready for the false narrative. If there is an increase in the counting of votes, there will be allegations of voter fraud rather than recognition that this is a success of our democratic enterprise. #ACS2020
ICYMI: “A More Perfect Union: The Future of Labor Law in a Post-COVID Economy” took place yesterday (1/7)
We need labor law reform. We need sector-wide solutions to address the multiple crises of the environment, the healthcare system, the economic crisis, said Nicole Berner of @SEIU (2/7)
Labor law has become an obstacle for workers to come together and countervail the power of corporations, said @sharblock (3/7)
In a new blog post on our expert forum, @MyConstitution’s David Gans explores California v. Texas, the latest attempt in the long-running effort by conservatives to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act bit.ly/3klf20x (1/5)
“Both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh—who together with the Court’s three more liberal Justices could form a majority—repeatedly stated that it would be inappropriate to strike down the statute as a whole.” (2/5)
Gans argues that while the Roberts Court is deeply conservative, for now it seems unwilling to upend settled legal principles to strike down the ACA. (3/5)
From our first issue brief by Kristina Silja Bennard back in 2005 (!) on the confirmation hearings of #RBG and answering questions while maintaining judicial impartiality (1/21)
Bennard: The hearings for #RBG in 1993 provide a good example of how a nominee balances her obligation of impartiality with the need to shed light on her fundamental views (3/21)
.@espinsegall in the ACS Expert Forum Blog: Judge Amy Coney Barrett stated during her confirmation hearings that she's an originalist, which is meaningless as it relates to interpretation, but suggests that she'll consistently cast conservative votes acslaw.org/expertforum/ju… (1/9)
There are conservative, moderate and liberal judges, but there are no originalist judges, Professor Segall argues (2/9)
In the 1970s and 80s, originalists like Robert Bork were opposed to judges overturning state & federal law absent a clear inconsistency with constitutional text (3/9)
ACS President @russfeingold released this statement as the Senate begins hearings for #SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett (1/8):
The illegitimate plan to seat another extremely conservative #SCOTUS justice will allow the Right to achieve their ultimate goal: locking down a supermajority that could last for a generation (2/8)
By doing so, the Right will effectively steal the future of the younger generation – and generations to come. This generation will not be able to forge its own way or make manifest the promises in our Constitution (3/8)