Democracy Decoded

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New voting restrictions across the country are threatening to make it harder for millions of Americans to participate in elections. In some states, these barriers have thrown long-registered voters into limbo, as Arizona voter James Wilson learned when he nearly lost his ability to vote because of strict new proof-of-citizenship rules. In this season finale, Democracy Decoded examines how these barriers to voting — along with an administration actively attempting to curtail the freedom to vote and a Supreme Court with voting rights cases on its docket — are reshaping access to the ballot. Host Simone Leeper speaks with election law scholar Rick Hasen and Campaign Legal Center’s voting rights expert Danielle Lang to unpack the rise of new barriers to voting, the future of the Voting Rights Act, the dangers of executive overreach, and the policy solutions and reforms needed to secure the freedom to vote in 2026 and beyond. Timestamps: (00:00) — How did one Arizona voter nearly lose his right to vote? (04:35) — Why are federal actions now threatening elections? (06:50) — How do proof-of-citizenship laws disenfranchise voters? (11:48) — What happened inside Arizona’s dual-track voting system? (15:32) — Who is most affected by modern voting restrictions? (21:36) — What role has the federal government historically played in protecting voting rights? (23:49) — Why is the SAVE Act so bad for voting rights? (25:16) — What is Campaign Legal Center doing to protect the freedom to vote in Louisiana? (28:38) — What is Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act? (30:06) — What is the Turtle Mountain v. Howe case? (34:05) — What reforms are needed to protect elections in 2026 and beyond? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Danielle Lang leads Campaign Legal Center's voting rights team dedicated to safeguarding the freedom to vote. She litigates in state and federal courts from trial to the Supreme Court, and advocates for equitable and meaningful voter access at all levels of government. Danielle has worked as a civil rights litigator her entire career. At CLC, she has led litigation against Texas's racially discriminatory voter ID law, Florida's modern-day poll tax for rights restoration, Arizona's burdensome registration requirements, North Dakota's voter ID law targeting Native communities and numerous successful challenges to signature match policies for absentee ballots. Previously, Danielle served as a Skadden Fellow in the Employment Rights Project of Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles, where she represented low-wage immigrant workers in wage and hour, discrimination and human trafficking matters. From 2012 to 2013, Danielle clerked for Judge Richard A. Paez on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Professor Richard L. Hasen is the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law, Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law. He is an internationally recognized expert in election law, writing as well in the areas of legislation and statutory interpretation, remedies and torts. He is co-author of leading casebooks in election law and remedies. Hasen served in 2022 and 2024 as an NBC News/MSNBC Election Law Analyst. He was a CNN Election Law Analyst in 2020. Links: Voting Is an American Freedom. The President Can’t Change That – CLC Victory! Anti-Voter Executive Order Halted in Court – CLC How CLC Is Pushing Back on the Trump Administration’s...

Under our Constitution, the federal government and the states have distinct powers — especially when it comes to elections. But the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to interfere with how states run elections, pushing unlawful policies that undermine faith in safe, secure and accurate elections. Host Simone Leeper sits down with Catie Kelley, Senior Director of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center, and Jonathan Diaz, CLC’s Director of Voting Advocacy and Partnerships, to examine how the Trump administration has attempted to federalize elections, impose unconstitutional voter restrictions and silence Americans. They unpack CLC’s major court victory against the administration’s unlawful election executive order; explain how new proof-of-citizenship requirements could disenfranchise millions of voters; and discuss lawsuits defending states’ rights and voters’ privacy against federal overreach. They also explore broader threats—from troubling legislation and to presidential attacks on mail-in voting—and what Campaign Legal Center is doing to preserve checks and balances, protect election integrity and defend every American’s freedom to vote. Timestamps: (00:00) — What does “federalism” mean, and why is it under attack? (02:50) — How is the Trump administration overstepping its authority on elections? (06:44) — What lawsuits has CLC filed to stop the president’s election overreach? (07:58) — Why are proof-of-citizenship rules so dangerous for voters? (11:28) — How are military families impacted by new voting restrictions? (14:50) — Why is the DOJ demanding states’ voter data—and why is it alarming? (17:56) — How are states pushing back to defend their power and voters’ privacy? (19:10) — What is the SAVE Act, and how could it silence millions of voters? (25:16) — Why is mail-in voting under attack again? (28:41) — How does misinformation from the president erode trust in elections? (30:51) — What lessons from 2024 should shape the 2026 midterms? (34:04) — What can states do to strengthen confidence in elections? (36:24) — What should voters remember heading into 2026 and beyond? (40:17) — How can Americans hold the line for democracy? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Catie Kelley is Senior Director of Policy & Strategic Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. Catie oversees CLC's policy work at the federal, state and local levels. She is leading CLC's work to address the emerging threats of election sabotage. Previously, Catie built and ran CLC's state campaign finance program. In that capacity, she worked with state and local stakeholders and policymakers to advance innovative policies designed to decrease the influence of money in the political process. She began her legal career in the Federal Election Commission's Office of General Counsel. Jonathan Diaz is Director of Voting Advocacy and Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. Jonathan advocates for laws and policies that expand the freedom to vote for all Americans; leads CLC's work on combatting election sabotage; and coordinates CLC's relationships with national, state and local voting rights partners. Jonathan manages CLC's work to protect election results and defend against election sabotage, and he works directly with CLC's litigation, communications and policy teams to help set organizational strategy on voting rights and elections advocacy. He also works directly with election officials at the state and local level...

Host Simone Leeper shares a quick Election Day 2025 update — Campaign Legal Center staff worked to safeguard elections; millions of Americans exercised their freedom to vote in states across the country; and Democracy Decoded will return next week with lessons learned from this and past elections that we will carry with us into 2026 and beyond. About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. Campaign Legal Center fights for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gerrymandering—the manipulation of voting maps for partisan gain—has been part of American politics since its founding, but today, the problem is reaching a breaking point. In this episode, host Simone Leeper shares the story of Vicki and Malcolm Reed, a Utah couple who Campaign Legal Center are representing in a landmark lawsuit defending voters’ rights, alongside Mark Gaber, CLC’s Senior Director of Redistricting. Together, they trace how Utahns fought back after lawmakers attempted to overturn a voter-approved ballot measure that created a citizen-led independent redistricting commission—and how the Utah Supreme Court ultimately sided with voters. As Malcolm and Vicki’s story unfolds, we also highlight how the current wave of mid-decade redistricting arms race that started in Texas and is now spilling into other states threatens to weaken voters’ voices nationwide. We explore how voters, courts and Congress can act to restore fairness to America’s elections and ensure that voters — not politicians — decide the outcome. Timestamps: (00:01) — Who are Vicki and Malcolm Reed, and why did they take on Utah’s legislature? (02:10) — What is gerrymandering, and how does it work? (05:11) — How did the framers envision fair representation? (10:10) — What is redistricting, and why does it matter for voters? (11:25) — What was Utah’s Proposition 4, and how did it aim to end gerrymandering? (14:42) — What’s the difference between racial and partisan gerrymandering? (15:12) — How do “packing” and “cracking” weaken voters’ power? (16:02) — How has technology supercharged modern gerrymandering? (17:12) — How did Utah lawmakers gut the independent redistricting commission? (20:44) — Why did Campaign Legal Center sue the Utah legislature? (23:22) — What happened when CLC argued the case before the Utah Supreme Court? (25:15) — What did the unanimous court decision mean for Utah voters? (28:50) — What is happening right now in Texas and other states across the country? (32:55) — What federal laws could end gerrymandering nationwide? (36:13) — Why should the fight for fair maps in Utah give us hope for democracy? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Mark Gaber manages Campaign Legal Center’s redistricting litigation and policy program, which seeks to achieve fair maps for racial and language minority groups, and to curb the influence of partisanship in redistricting. Mark has led CLC’s redistricting program to major successes since the 2020 Census. He argued for petitioners in the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Clarke v. Wisconsin Election Commission, which resulted in the invalidation of Wisconsin’s state legislative maps and the transformation of the state’s legislative maps from being among the most politically skewed to among the most politically fair in the country. He is lead counsel in League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature, in which CLC has successfully challenged the Utah legislature’s repeal of a voter-adopted initiative reforming the state’s redistricting process and its enactment of an extremely gerrymandered congressional map. In that case, Mark has (to date) argued twice in the Utah Supreme Court, resulting in two unanimous decisions in favor of CLC’s clients. Mark has also led CLC’s redistricting team to victories enforcing the Voting Rights Act (VRA). These include two cases on behalf of North Dakota’s Native American voters, where he has argued in the Eighth Circuit against a challenge...

Presidential power has expanded far beyond what the framers of the Constitution envisioned. From Lincoln and Roosevelt to Nixon and Trump, presidents have pushed the limits of executive authority — often during moments of crisis. Understanding this history is key to understanding what comes next for American democracy In this episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with American historians Douglas Brinkley and Rick Perlstein, CLC Executive Director Adav Noti and Juan Proaño, CEO of LULAC. In conversation, they trace how the presidency has gathered sweeping power over time; what happens when oversight of this executive power breaks down; and what legal, legislative and civic reforms could restore accountability, prevent presidential overreach and safeguard the constitutional separation of powers that defines the United States. Timestamps: (00:05) — Why were federal troops deployed in Los Angeles? (05:11) — Can the president legally invoke emergency powers? (07:31) — How did the Founders limit presidential authority? (09:14) — When did executive orders begin to expand presidential power? (10:25) — How did FDR and later presidents redefine the presidency? (13:04) — What did Nixon’s “If the president does it, it’s not illegal” comment really mean? (15:22) — What are the origins of the so-called unitary executive theory? (18:21) — How are checks and balances failing? (19:42) — Is America sliding toward authoritarianism? (27:57) — How is Campaign Legal Center fighting unlawful presidential overreach through litigation? (30:00) — Why does birthright citizenship matter for American democracy? (33:13) — What can be done to stop abuses of presidential authority? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Juan Proaño is an entrepreneur, technologist and business leader who is active in civic affairs, social impact, and politics He has served as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since November 2023. As LULAC’s CEO, Juan oversees the day-to-day operations at LULAC; identifies strategic growth areas; and works to amplify the organization’s advocacy initiatives and action-oriented programs. Rick Perlstein is an American historian, writer and journalist who has garnered recognition for his chronicles of the post-1960s American conservative movement. He is the author of five bestselling books. Perlstein received the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Award for History for his first book, Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus, and appeared on the best books of the year lists of The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. His essays and book reviews have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Village Voice and Slate, among others. A contributing editor and board member of In These Times magazine, he lives in Chicago. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, CNN Presidential Historian and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He works in many capacities in the world of public history, including on boards, museums, colleges and historical societies. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him “America’s New Past Master.” The New York Historical has chosen Brinkley as their official U.S. Presidential Historian. His recent book Cronkite won the Sperber Prize, while The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the...

Corruption defines both the perception and reality of government, eroding trust and even threatening national security. Today, the safeguards meant to keep our government accountable are failing. From the mass firing of inspectors general to congressional stock trading and Supreme Court ethics scandals, abuses of power are weakening public trust and raising fears that the U.S. could slide toward kleptocracy. In this episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with Mark Lee Greenblatt, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior; Jodi Vittori, Georgetown University professor and expert on corruption and national security; and Kedric Payne, Vice President and General Counsel at Campaign Legal Center. Together, they trace America’s long fight against corruption — from the founders’ earliest fears to Watergate reforms — and examine how today’s failures of accountability threaten American democracy. The episode closes with solutions for restoring integrity, eliminating conflicts of interest and rebuilding trust in American government. Timestamps: (00:05) — Why did Trump fire 17 inspectors general? (07:36) — How has corruption shaped U.S. history? (11:14) — What reforms followed Watergate? (18:22) — Why does corruption feel worse in daily life now? (23:01) — How did Trump weaken watchdog offices and ethics enforcement? (28:47) — Why does congressional stock trading undermine trust? (33:58) — What do Supreme Court ethics scandals reveal? (39:59) — Could the U.S. slide toward kleptocracy? (46:04) — How does corruption threaten national security? (56:57) — What reforms could restore accountability and integrity? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Mark Lee Greenblatt is an expert on government ethics and compliance, an attorney and author. Most recently, he served as Inspector General for the U.S. Department of the Interior. His work bolstered the integrity of the agency’s programs, rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the Department’s $10 billion in grants and contracts and $12 billion in natural resource royalties. Mark was elected by the 74 Inspectors General to serve as the Chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in 2022. He previously served in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He also served as an investigative counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Anita Brody and was a litigator in two international law firms. Mark is the author of Valor, which tells untold stories of 21st century American soldiers, sailors and Marines who faced gut-wrenching decisions to overcome enormous odds. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, and he regularly appears in the news media. He graduated from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, and he earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University. Jodi Vittori is an expert on the linkages of corruption, state fragility, illicit finance and U.S. national security. She is a Professor of Practice and co-chair of the Global Politics and Security program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Jodi is also an associate fellow with RUSI’s Centre for Finance and Security and was previously a non-resident fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Before joining the Georgetown University faculty, she was the U.S....

The foundation of our democracy is the Constitution, a system of checks and balances and the rule of law. But today, those cornerstones are being blatantly disrespected by a presidential administration attempting to consolidate power at all costs.. In this episode, host Simone Leeper is joined by Campaign Legal Center litigators Anna Baldwin and Brent Ferguson. They examine the most pressing examples of the erosion of the rule of law, from the politicization of the Department of Justice to the stifling of free speech. Along the way, they highlight how Congress and the courts have failed as effective checks — leaving civil society and citizens to defend constitutional principles — and explore the reforms that could restore accountability, protect the rule of law and strengthen democracy against threats. Timestamps: (00:05) — Why is free speech under attack in the U.S.? (03:50) — How is political opposition being falsely linked to political violence? (05:38) — Why is deploying federal troops in U.S. cities a threat to democracy? (09:50) — How are Congress and the courts failing to check presidential abuses of power? (15:09) — How has the DOJ been transformed into a political tool? (20:17) — Why is the Voting Rights Act no longer being enforced? (21:17) — What’s at stake with the DOJ’s demand for voter data? (27:27) — How is CLC challenging unlawful executive orders? (32:30) — What reforms are needed to restore checks and balances? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Anna Baldwin is a member of Campaign Legal Center's voting rights team working to protect the freedom to vote, litigating cases in state and federal courts, from filing through appeal to the Supreme Court. Prior to joining CLC, Anna spent 14 years in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory, Anna led briefing and appellate argument for the United States to overturn a North Carolina law that purposefully restricted voting and registration opportunities for Black voters in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Anna was also a member of the trial team that successfully challenged Texas’s racially discriminatory voter ID law. Anna has argued eighteen cases before the federal courts of appeal, including four en banc cases. Previously, Anna was an associate in the Washington D.C. office of Jenner & Block LLP, and clerked for Judge James Robertson on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and for Judge M. Blane Michael on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Brent Ferguson leads Campaign Legal Center's strategic litigation team, focusing on anti-authoritarianism and litigating in all areas of election law. Brent has worked on protecting and improving our democracy for most of his career. At CLC, he has led litigation teams challenging state and federal laws and policies that seek to unlawfully purge voters, limit voter registration activity and otherwise prevent Americans from exercising their constitutionally protected rights. He has authored academic articles on election law and other constitutional issues in the Washington Law Review, the Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy, the Emory Law Journal Online and elsewhere. Before coming to CLC, Brent was senior counsel at the National Redistricting Foundation, where he helped develop strategy for federal and state redistricting litigation. For four years, he served as counsel at the...

Record-breaking sums of money are pouring into American politics — from billionaires spending hundreds of millions to dark money groups hiding their donors. These sums have given wealthy interests outsized access and influence — while the Federal Election Commission (FEC), created to enforce campaign finance laws, has become unable to fulfill its mission. In this episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with former FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Campaign Legal Center President Trevor Potter. Together, they trace how court rulings like Buckley v. Valeo, Citizens United v. FEC and SpeechNOW v. FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited political spending — and explore reforms that could restore transparency, strengthen the Federal Election Commission and curb the outsized role of big money in our democracy. Timestamps: (00:01) — Why was an FEC commissioner suddenly removed? (03:14) — How much money was spent in the 2024 election cycle? (07:00) — What campaign finance lessons came out of Watergate? (09:35) — What was the McCain-Feingold Act, and why did it matter? (10:45) — How did Citizens United and SpeechNow change U.S. elections? (13:41) — What is dark money and why is it dangerous? (15:18) — Why has the FEC failed to enforce campaign finance laws? (21:48) — How did Elon Musk become the biggest mega-donor in U.S. history? (24:14) — What government power did Musk gain after funding Trump? (30:03) — How has campaign finance evolved since Watergate? (33:41) — What reforms could reduce dark money and strengthen transparency? (40:57) — What must Congress do now to curb big money in politics? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Ellen L. Weintraub served as Commissioner and four-time Chair of the U.S. Federal Election Commission from 2002 to 2025. There, she advocated for meaningful campaign-finance law enforcement and robust disclosure and strove to combat "dark money" and foreign influence in our elections. She has been a critic of the system that gives disproportionate influence to billionaire donors and has refuted unfounded claims of voter fraud. On February 6, 2025, she was informed that the President was removing her from office. A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, Weintraub has published articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post and leading law reviews and is a frequent speaker on news shows and at conferences at home and abroad. Previously, she practiced law at Perkins Coie LLP and was Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee. Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate. Senator Whitehouse serves as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee. Trevor Potter is President of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. A Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Trevor was general counsel to John McCain’s 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns and an adviser to the drafters of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. To many, he is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on The Colbert Report as the lawyer for Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, during the 2012 election, a program that won a Peabody Award for excellence in reporting on money in politics. The American Bar Association Journal has described Trevor as “hands-down one of the top lawyers in the country on the delicate...

The U.S. Supreme Court has vastly reshaped American democracy — rolling back voting rights, enabling secret money in politics and expanding presidential power. These decisions have a real impact on all Americans by making it harder for citizens to exercise their freedom to vote, easier for wealthy interests to sway elections and more difficult to hold leaders accountable. In this episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with law professor and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny Podcast Leah Litman, Campaign Legal Center Senior Vice President Bruce V. Spiva and Campaign Legal Center Campaign Finance Senior Counsel David Kolker. Together, they unpack the real-world impact of landmark Supreme Court decisions — from voting rights cases like Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. DNC to campaign finance rulings like Citizens United — and explore what reforms could restore balance, accountability and trust in the Court. Timestamps: (00:05) — What do Americans really think about the Supreme Court? (02:18) — Why does the Supreme Court’s power matter for democracy? (07:01) — How did Shelby County v. Holder weaken voting rights? (16:39) — What was the impact of Brnovich v. DNC? (23:39) — How has the Supreme Court reshaped campaign finance? (29:24) — Why did Citizens United open the floodgates for money in politics? (32:37) — How have super PACs changed elections? (34:02) — How have wealthy special interests reshaped U.S. elections? (35:44) — What does presidential immunity mean for accountability? (37:30) — How do lifetime seats protect the Supreme Court from accountability? (39:22) — What role can Congress play in restoring trust and democracy? Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk. In addition to cohosting Strict Scrutiny, she writes frequently about the Court for media outlets including The Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, among others, and has appeared as a commentator on NPR and MSNBC, in addition to other venues. She has received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg award for her “scholarly excellence” from the American Constitution Society and published in top law reviews. Follow her on Bluesky @LeahLitman and Instagram @ProfLeahLitman. Bruce V. Spiva is Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. He is an attorney and community leader who has spent his over 30-year career fighting for civil rights and civil liberties, voting rights, consumer protection, and antitrust enforcement. Over the past three decades, he has tried cases and argued appeals in courtrooms across the country, including arguing against vote suppression in the United States Supreme Court in 2021. In 2022, in his first run for public office, Bruce mounted a competitive run in the primary election for Washington, D.C. Attorney General. In addition to founding his own law firm where he practiced for eleven years, Bruce has held several leadership and management positions as a partner at two national law firms. Most recently, Bruce served as the Managing Partner of the D.C. Office and on the firm-wide Executive Committee of Perkins Coie LLP, where he also had an active election law practice. He first-chaired twelve voting rights and redistricting trials across the country, and argued numerous voting rights appeals in U.S. circuit courts and state supreme courts during his tenure at Perkins. David Kolker is Campaign Finance Senior Counsel at Campaign Legal...

How did American democracy reach such a precarious moment — and what can we do to fix things? Host Simone Leeper examines the fundamental threats to our democracy today, from gerrymandering and corruption to abuses of executive power and the outsized role of money in politics. Through real stories from everyday Americans and insights from the experts at Campaign Legal Center and other distinguished guests, this season of Democracy Decoded explores how we can use the tools we still have to repair the cracks in the system — and how, together, we can change things for the better. Learn what’s at stake — and what can be done to solve the challenges facing American democracy. Follow Democracy Decoded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. Campaign Legal Center fights for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Donald Trump took office as president on January 20, 2025, having already served one term. Immediately, however, he made clear his second term would be even more unpredictable than his first. He put one of the world's richest men — and his biggest campaign donor — in charge of a shadowy new entity with seemingly unfettered access to government data. Trump also blitzed the system with a barrage of executive orders, which have seemingly upended the government. He has done everything from threatening judges and lawyers to attacking the very concept of birthright citizenship, while Congress has remained largely on the sidelines. In short, Trump has moved aggressively against many of the checks and balances that American democracy has built in. As he works to consolidate power for the executive branch, other players have stepped up to challenge the president's moves — Campaign Legal Center among them. In this special episode of Democracy Decoded, our host Simone Leeper speaks with Trevor Potter, the president and founder of Campaign Legal Center, and Adav Noti, the executive director of Campaign Legal Center, to discuss what they’ve seen and what they’re doing during this unprecedented moment. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Trevor Potter is President at Campaign Legal Center. A Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Trevor was general counsel to John McCain’s 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns and an adviser to the drafters of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. To many, he is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on The Colbert Report as the lawyer for Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, during the 2012 election, a program that won a Peabody Award for excellence in reporting on money in politics. The American Bar Association Journal has described Trevor as “hands-down one of the top lawyers in the country on the delicate intersection of politics, law and money.” He has provided testimony and written statements to Congress on federal election proposals, campaign finance regulation and, recently, the effects of the January 6th attack on our democracy. During the 2020 election season, Trevor was named to the cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises. Adav Noti is Executive Director at Campaign Legal Center. He has conducted dozens of constitutional cases in trial and appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court. He also advises Members of Congress and other policymakers on advancing democracy through legislation. Prior to joining CLC, Adav served for more than 10 years in nonpartisan leadership capacities within the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission, and he served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Adav regularly provides expert analysis for television, radio, and print journalism. He has appeared on broadcasts such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Anderson Cooper 360, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and he is regularly cited in publications nationwide, including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Politico, Slate, and Reuters. Links: It’s almost Inauguration Day. Will there be any checks on Trump’s power? – The Hill op-ed by Trevor Potter Bad Signs for Democracy as First 100 Days Begins – CLC newsletter, From the Desk of Trevor Potter On the Question of Crisis – CLC newsletter, From the Desk of Trevor...

In the end, the worst of everyone’s election fears — political violence, overt foreign interference or a razor-thin margin between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump leading to a hotly contested legal battle — did not come to pass. Instead, Donald Trump won a plurality of votes for president, and did so decisively. On January 20, 2025, he will once again become the country’s most powerful executive. His victory raises weighty questions for the experts at Campaign Legal Center. Trump ran explicitly on a platform of behaving like an authoritarian, promising to fire U.S. civil servants, threatening opponents with jail, and brandishing military force against would-be dissenters. As his return to power approaches, we grapple with a paradoxical election, in which voters declared their preference for the candidate who repeatedly threatened the American system as we know it. Joining Simone in this episode are Trevor Potter, CLC’s president and founder, and CLC senior vice presidents Paul M. Smith and Bruce Spiva. They offer their forecasts for the uncertain years ahead and explain what this election did (and did not) signify about the health of American democracy. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Trevor Potter is President at Campaign Legal Center. A Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Trevor was general counsel to John McCain’s 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns and an adviser to the drafters of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. To many, he is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on The Colbert Report as the lawyer for Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, during the 2012 election, a program that won a Peabody Award for excellence in reporting on money in politics. The American Bar Association Journal has described Trevor as “hands-down one of the top lawyers in the country on the delicate intersection of politics, law and money.” He has provided testimony and written statements to Congress on federal election proposals, campaign finance regulation and, recently, the effects of the January 6th attack on our democracy. During the 2020 election season, Trevor was named to the cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises. Bruce Spiva is Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. He is an attorney and community leader who has spent his over 30-year career fighting for civil rights and civil liberties, voting rights, consumer protection, and antitrust enforcement. Over the past three decades, he has tried cases and argued appeals in courtrooms across the country, including arguing against vote suppression in the United States Supreme Court in 2021. In 2022, in his first run for public office, Bruce mounted a competitive run in the primary election for Washington, D.C. Attorney General. In addition to founding his own law firm where he practiced for eleven years, Bruce has held several leadership and management positions as a partner at two national law firms. Most recently, Bruce served as the Managing Partner of the D.C. Office and on the firm-wide Executive Committee of Perkins Coie LLP, where he also had an active election law practice. He first-chaired twelve voting rights and redistricting trials across the country, and argued numerous voting rights appeals in U.S. circuit courts and state supreme courts during his tenure at Perkins. Paul M. Smith is Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. He works directly with CLC’s talented...

This week’s episode is short, sweet, and to the point: It’s Election Day, and if you haven’t yet cast your vote, let us be your friendly reminder. Like many of her CLC colleagues, Simone will spend the day monitoring elections. Next week she’ll be back with the final episode of the season, with a look at how this most dramatic election is playing out. Until then, it’s up to you. Nationwide nonpartisan Election Protection (EP) hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) Host: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Links: Vote.org About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization which advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s right to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

An incumbent president drops out, mid-race. A former president becomes a party’s nominee for the first time in more than a century. There are multiple occurrences of political violence against a candidate. Newly emergent AI tools spread disinformation. And a Supreme Court that may be called upon to decide the race is perceived by the electorate as increasingly politicized. The 2024 election cycle has already made its share of history. With Election Day now just a week away, we bring you another of this season’s up-to-the-minute episodes. This time we’re speaking with Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center, who joins Simone to explain how this election has been playing out, and what it all means for you, the voter, as the deadline nears to cast your ballot. Nationwide nonpartisan Election Protection (EP) hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Trevor Potter is President at Campaign Legal Center. A Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Trevor was general counsel to John McCain’s 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns and an adviser to the drafters of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. To many, he is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on The Colbert Report as the lawyer for Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, during the 2012 election, a program that won a Peabody Award for excellence in reporting on money in politics. The American Bar Association Journal has described Trevor as “hands-down one of the top lawyers in the country on the delicate intersection of politics, law and money.” Trevor is the author of several books and manuals on lobbying regulation and disclosure, campaign finance and federal election law. He has provided testimony and written statements to Congress on federal election proposals, campaign finance regulation and, recently, the effects of the January 6th attack on our democracy. He has also taught campaign finance law at the University of Virginia School of Law and Oxford University, and he has appeared widely in national broadcast and print media. During the 2020 election season, Trevor was named to the cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises. Links: Count Every Vote, So Every Vote Counts - Campaign Legal Center What Happens To My Ballot After I Vote? - Campaign Legal Center Want Election Results Sooner? Allow Election Officials to Process Mail Ballots Early - Campaign Legal Center Electoral Count Reform Act Makes It Harder to Undermine Presidential Elections - Campaign Legal Center About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization which advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s right to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Imagine you’re at home when you hear a knock. At your door are people who want you to share, in detail, who you voted for in the last election, months ago. When you ask them who they are and where they’re from, they remain vague and perhaps even aggressive. This was the case for some Americans in the years after the 2020 election, part of a spate of behaviors by election skeptics and deniers that, in some cases, amounted to voter intimidation. The history of voter intimidation in the United States is sordid and violent, especially in the century between the U.S. Civil War and the passage of strong voter protections in the 1960s. But it’s important to remember that voter intimidation is against the law. Whether you’re voting in-person, by mail or via election dropbox, you should never be made to feel unsafe or intimidated while exercising your freedom to vote.. Carly Koppes, the clerk and recorder of Colorado’s enormous Weld County, describes to us the steps she and fellow officials took when they received reports of unwelcome and unofficial vigilante election “auditors” going door to door in 2021. Christina Das of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund walks us through the bleak history of voter intimidation in America. And CLC’s Jonathan Diaz explains how voter intimidation has evolved to become sneakier and more subversive in the digital age — and the steps you can take if you encounter it. Nationwide nonpartisan Election Protection (EP) hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Carly Koppes has been working in the Weld County Clerk and Recorder’s office for twenty years starting in June of 2004. Her main department was the Election department, but she has also worked in the Recording and Motor Vehicle departments during her time working for the Clerk and Recorder office. She received her Colorado Election Official Certification from the Colorado Secretary of State in October 2007 and finished up her national designation of Certified Elections/Registration Administrators (CERA) through the Elections Center's Professional Education Program at Auburn University in July of 2014. Carly is a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Program of the Rockies and in 2019 she received her Public Leadership certification from Pepperdine University through the International Association of Government Officials. Carly was also honored along with the Colorado County Clerks Association to receive the Defender of Democracy Award from The Center for Election Innovation and Research in 2022. In 2023 Carly was appointed to the national Local Leadership Council of the Election Assistance Commission and was elected as the Vice Chair of the Council. Carly is the youngest person to be elected to the position of Weld County Clerk and Recorder. Carly is currently serving on the Executive Board for the Colorado County Clerks Association; Carly was President of the Colorado County Clerks Association in 2021 and will serve as President in 2026. Christina Das is Counsel on the Black Voters on the Rise team with LDF, an interdisciplinary team leading year-round election protection and election administration advocacy efforts across the South, using legal, organizing, and advocacy tools to defend and advance the rights of Black voters to participate in our democracy. Christina’s experience includes executing strategic campaigns to expand voter access, such as passing legislation for in-person Early Voting in South Carolina in 2022 and working with...

When New Hampshire voters picked up the phone earlier this year and heard what sounded like the voice of President Joe Biden asking them not to vote in that state’s primary election, the stage was set for an unprecedented election year. The call was a deepfake — and the first major instance of artificial intelligence being used in the 2024 election. With the rise of AI tools that can credibly synthesize voices, images and videos, how are voters supposed to determine what they can trust as they prepare to cast their votes? To find out how lawmakers and civil society are pushing back against harmful false narratives and content, we talked with experts engaging the problem on several fronts. Stephen Richer, an elected Republican in Phoenix, posts on X (formerly Twitter) to engage misinformation head-on to protect Arizona voters. Adav Noti, the executive director of CLC, explains how good-governance advocates are hurrying to catch up with a profusion of new digital tools that make the age-old practices of misinformation and disinformation faster and cheaper than ever. And Mia Hoffman, a researcher who looks at the effects of AI on democracies, reminds voters not to panic — that bad information and malicious messaging don’t always have the power to reach their audience, let alone sway people’s opinions or actions. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Stephen Richer is the 30th Recorder of Maricopa County. He was elected in November 2020 and took office in January 2021. His office of approximately 150 employees records hundreds of thousands of public documents every year, maintains a voter registration database of 2.4 million voters -- the second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States -- and administers the mail voting component of all elections in Maricopa County. Prior to his time as Recorder, Stephen worked in various business sectors and, later, as an attorney at the law firms Steptoe & Johnson LLP and Lewis Roca LLP. He holds a J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.A. from Tulane University. He is completing his PhD at Arizona State University. Adav Noti is Executive Director at Campaign Legal Center. He has conducted dozens of constitutional cases in trial and appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court. He also advises Members of Congress and other policymakers on advancing democracy through legislation. Prior to joining CLC, Adav served for more than 10 years in nonpartisan leadership capacities within the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission, and he served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Adav regularly provides expert analysis for television, radio, and print journalism. He has appeared on broadcasts such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Anderson Cooper 360, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and he is regularly cited in publications nationwide, including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Politico, Slate, and Reuters. Mia Hoffmann is a Research Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Her research focuses on AI harm incidents, aiming to provide a deeper understanding of failure modes and the efficacy of risk mitigation practices. In recent work, she examined the uses of AI in US election administration and their risks to electoral integrity. Prior to joining CSET, Mia worked at the European Commission and as a researcher in Brussels, where she studied AI adoption and its...

Election certification has traditionally been a mostly symbolic process in the United States. You vote, your vote gets counted, your precinct and others get tallied together (“canvassed” is the term of art) and, within a few days, everyone looks at the counts and agrees on a winner. But lately, this banal, bland procedure has become a political flashpoint, as people who question the election process impose unrealistic requirements on certification — and, in some cases, outright refuse to certify elections, even when state law requires them to do so. In another of this season’s up-to-the-minute episodes, we are speaking with Jonathan Diaz, a litigator and voting rights advocate at CLC, who joins Simone to explain how election certification is supposed to work, how it’s being taken advantage of by bad actors and what CLC and other good-government advocates are doing to push back and see that election laws are carried out. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Jonathan Diaz is Director for Voting Advocacy and Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. Jonathan helps lead CLC’s work on combating election manipulation and participates on behalf of CLC on a number of democracy reform coalitions, coordinating CLC's work with partner organizations at the national, state and local levels. He also litigates voting rights cases across the United States, including VoteAmerica v. Raffensperger (N.D.Ga.), LUCHA v. Fontes (D.Ariz.), and Raysor v. Lee (N.D.Fla./11th Cir./SCOTUS). Jonathan frequently provides commentary on voting rights and election law issues in the media; he has been quoted in publications including the New York Times, Miami Herald, and ProPublica, and has appeared on Univision, NPR, and CNN, where he was an election law analyst during the 2020 election cycle. Links: Letters of Guidance on Election Certification - Campaign Legal Center What Happens To My Ballot After I Vote? - Campaign Legal Center Machine Tabulation, Not Hand Counting, Should Be Used to Count Ballots - Campaign Legal Center Can Georgia's Election Board Refuse to Certify Results? The Law Says No - Campaign Legal Center Want Election Results Sooner? Allow Election Officials to Process Mail Ballots Early - Campaign Legal Center The Courts Will Prevent Local Election Boards in Georgia from Disrupting the Certification of the Election, Officials Say - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) 2025 Counting and Certification of Electoral Votes Designated National Security Event - U.S. Secret Service About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization which advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s right to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy that sets the United States apart — the so-called north star of our electoral system. Yet the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 challenged that tradition profoundly. In the lead-up to this November, we answer the question that is on the minds of many voters: Will the months after this presidential election look like the aftermath of the last one? Fortunately, lawmakers who were caught in the eye of that storm seized the opportunity to make updates to our election laws that were, by some accounts, about 150 years overdue. In 2021, Congress passed the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform Act, or ECRA, in an effort to curtail the tactics that bad actors could use to exploit the Electoral College and to define and streamline the procedures by which states count and certify election results. Catie Kelley of CLC joins us to explain how an otherwise deeply divided Congress pulled together to pass this important law, and why the passage of this new law will help ensure that this presidential election goes much more smoothly than the last one. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Catie Kelley is Senior Director for Policy & Strategic Partnerships at Campaign Legal Center. Previously, Catie built and ran CLC's state campaign finance program. In that capacity, she worked with state and local stakeholders and policymakers to advance innovative policies designed to decrease the influence of money in the political process. She began her legal career in the Federal Election Commission's Office of General Counsel. Links: We Voted, Now What? How the President is Elected - Campaign Legal Center Electing the President: From Election Day to the Joint Session - Campaign Legal Center Enactments Relating to the Electoral Count Reform Act - National Conference of State Legislatures Congress Passes ECRA to ward off another Jan 6th - NPR Electoral Count Reform Act Makes It Harder to Undermine Presidential Elections - Campaign Legal Center Congress Takes Historic Action to Update the Electoral Count Act - Campaign Legal Center What the Electoral Count Reform Act Means for States - Campaign Legal Center States Enact Important Legislation to Update Election Laws Ahead of Presidential Election - Campaign Legal Center Bipartisan Arizona Law Makes Crucial Updates to Presidential Election Deadlines - Campaign Legal Center About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization which advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s right to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Voter registration is the number one obstacle to voting in the United States. It should be easy, accessible and secure, but too often, states are moving backwards; making voter registration more difficult and less equitable. Here, we introduce a new type of episode: an up-to-the-minute interview with an expert to help you better understand some of the most important issues affecting elections. Danielle Lang, a voting rights attorney at CLC, joins Simone to explain why major actions in Arizona and Texas involve what should be a straightforward component of elections: voter registration. Danielle explains voter purges, mass challenges to voter registrations, and their effects on voters. And she lays out actions that states and individuals alike can take to ensure registering to vote is safe and secure ahead of Election Day. Host and Guests: Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016. Danielle Lang is Senior Director for Voting Rights at Campaign Legal Center. Danielle has worked as a civil rights litigator her entire career. At CLC, she has led litigation against Texas's racially discriminatory voter ID law, Florida's modern-day poll tax for rights restoration, Arizona's burdensome registration requirements, North Dakota's voter ID law targeting Native communities, and numerous successful challenges to signature match policies for absentee ballots. Previously, Danielle served as a Skadden Fellow in the Employment Rights Project of Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles, where she represented low-wage immigrant workers in wage and hour, discrimination, and human trafficking matters. From 2012 to 2013, Danielle clerked for Judge Richard A. Paez on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Links: Frivolous Mass Challenges to Voter Eligibility Damaging to Democracy - Campaign Legal Center Our Strict Laws Ensure Only U.S. Citizens Vote in Federal Elections - Campaign Legal Center How To Prevent Unfair Voter Purges - Campaign Legal Center Modernizing Voter Registration - Campaign Legal Center What Does the U.S. Supreme Court’s Recent Arizona Decision Mean for Voters? - Campaign Legal Center Texas Expands Push to Halt Democratic Voter Registration Efforts - Bloomberg Law Tweet from Kyle Huddleston Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Bexar County Voter Registration Case - The New York Times About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization which advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s right to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.