Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Meet the reformer: Myrna Pérez, advocate for a trustworthy election in the pandemic

Brennan Center's Mryna Pérez

The Brennan Center's Myrna Pérez speaks at the New York University Law School two years ago.

NYU Photo Bureau.

The Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive think tank at New York University Law School, is one of the preeminent groups pushing for a comprehensive, reliable and safe election during the coronavirus pandemic. And helming that litigation, research and lobbying effort is Myrna Pérez. She runs the voting rights and elections program and has been with the Brennan Center most of her professional life, arriving after a stint at a civil rights firm in Washington and clerkships for federal trial and appeals court judges in Philadelphia. Before getting a law degree from Columbia in 2003, she was a health care and housing analyst for what's now called the Government Accountability Office, the congressional oversight agency. Her answers have been edited for clarity and length.

What's democracy's biggest challenge, in 10 words or less?

Politicians manipulating the rules so some of us can't vote.


Describe your very first civic engagement.

I vividly remember some important moments, but not the dates well enough to know what happened first. Going with my tia to the polls in my native San Antonio. A lot of confusion and frustration in early school experiences because of the cultural gaps between me and some of my teachers — and me trying, in my small-child way, to educate my teachers about my community. And asking my parents to donate to anti-hunger causes instead of giving me a Christmas present. If you asked my very large family, they'd probably tell you about the time I raised a fuss because one of my cousins intended to keep a fish he had caught that was just under the legal limit. They love to tell that story.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

What was your biggest professional triumph?

No one person is responsible for a victory and there are a million invisible ways people are set up to succeed by other people. Reframing the question into what victories made me the happiest, those would be passage in 2018 of the Florida referendum to restore voting rights to felons and the 2016 federal appeals court ruling that the Texas photo ID law violated the Voting Rights Act.

And your most disappointing setback?

I wasn't surprised but was nonetheless devastated when Matt Bevin became governor of Kentucky in 2015 and undid the executive order of his predecessor, Steve Beshear, ending a permanent and blanket ban on voting by people with criminal convictions. Fortunately the current governor, Andy Beshear, issued an executive order similar to his father's upon taking office last year.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

My identity is why I do the work! My parents were Mexican immigrants. I was a girl in a large and pretty traditional immigrant family. I see the world in terms of the trauma, dysfunction and injustice that are caused by racism, poverty and sexism. But I'm also a person of faith. So I know how the human story ends: Love wins. One of the beautiful mysteries of my faith is that, while the beginning and the end of the story are set, God is using us to write the middle.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

One is, "Never be so self-duplicitous that you conflate your friends with your contacts." The other comes from the Book of Micah: "Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly with Your God."

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

Mango, lime and chile sorbet.

What's your favorite political movie or TV show?

So many! But probably "Selma," the 2014 historical drama film about the 1965 voting rights marches in Alabama.

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Check my calendar for tomorrow.

What is your deepest, darkest secret?

Even at my age, I can do a near perfect cartwheel. Also, I used to prefer flour tortillas to corn — but, to be clear, I have now seen the light.

Read More

Just the Facts: Courts’ Actions Against the Trump Administration

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Just the Facts: Courts’ Actions Against the Trump Administration

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

How many legal actions have been filed against the Trump administration since January 2025?

Keep ReadingShow less
Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis
aerial photography of rural
Photo by Breno Assis on Unsplash

Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis

Across the country, families are prevented from accessing safe, stable, affordable housing—not by accident, but by design. Decades of exclusionary zoning, racial discrimination, and disinvestment have created a housing system that works well for the wealthy but leaves others behind. Even as federal cuts to public housing programs continue nationwide, powerful, community-rooted efforts are pushing back and offering real, equity-driven solutions led by local voices.

Historically, states like New Jersey show what’s possible when legal advocacy and grassroots organizing come together. In 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel ruling established that every municipality in the state has a constitutional obligation to provide its fair share of affordable housing. This landmark legal ruling reshaped housing policy and set a national precedent. Today, organizations like Fair Share Housing Center continue to defend and expand this right, ensuring that local governments are prohibited from using zoning laws to exclude working-class families or people of color.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems
person wearing white cap looking down under cloudy sky during daytime

Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems

Pope Francis is being remembered for his reformist stance that both challenged conservative elements within the Catholic Church and resonated with progressive movements. The 88-year-old Argentina-born pontiff passed away on Monday following a series of health complications.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church often shared his perspectives on various societal issues, including the relationship between faith and democracy. His tenure as pope was marked by a commitment to social justice, human rights, and the dignity of all individuals, which naturally intersects with democratic ideals.

Keep ReadingShow less