Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

New York joins growing movement for automatic voter registration

New York voters

If Gov. Cuomo signs the measure, New York will be the 20th state to enact automatic voter registration.

Angela Weiss/Getty Images

New York lawmakers passed a bill this week to establish automatic voter registration, making it the second most populous state to do so.

The state Senate passed the measure Wednesday and the Assembly followed suit a day later, sending the legislation to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk. If AVR gets the Democratic governor's approval, it will go into effect at the start of 2023.


Easing the voter registration process has been a growing movement across the country. Over the last five years, 19 other states (including California, the most populous state) and D.C. have enacted AVR, and all but three of these states have the process set up for this year's election.

The Democratic lawmakers who pushed the bill through this session say AVR will help register 2 million New Yorkers who are eligible to vote but are not currently on the rolls.

But because this registration process won't go into effect for another three years, New Yorkers not on the voter rolls will need to register online or by mail by Oct. 9 to vote in the November election.

Once AVR goes into effect, New Yorkers will be automatically registered, unless they wish to opt out, when they visit the DMV or another state agency.

"At a time when some states are trying to make it harder for people to vote, it's great to see New York moving closer to a reform that has dramatically increased registration every place it has been implemented," said Sean Morales-Doyle of the Brennan Center for Justice, a prominent progressive, good-government group that advocates for voting easements and other democracy reforms.


Read More

Election Officials Have Been Preparing for AI Cyberattacks

People voting at a polling station

Brett Carlsen/Getty

Election Officials Have Been Preparing for AI Cyberattacks

Since ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence systems first became widely available, the Brennan Center and other experts have warned that this technology may lead to more cyberattacks on elections and other critical infrastructure. Reports that Anthropic’s new AI model, Claude Mythos, can pinpoint software vulnerabilities that even the most experienced human experts would miss underline the urgency of those risks. Fortunately, election officials have been preparing for cyberattacks and have made significant progress in securing their systems over the past decade, incorporating improved cybersecurity practices at every step of the election process.

Anthropic claims that its new model can autonomously scan for vulnerabilities in software more effectively than even expert security researchers. If given access to this new model, amateurs would theoretically be capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in a way that previously only sophisticated actors, such as nation-states, could do. For this reason, Anthropic chose not to release the Mythos model publicly. Instead, under an initiative Anthropic is calling Project Glasswing, it has offered access to Mythos to a number of high-profile tech firms and critical infrastructure operators so that these companies can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities in their own systems. Although Anthropic is currently controlling access to its model to prevent misuse, experts believe it is only a matter of time before tools advertising similar capabilities are broadly available.

Keep ReadingShow less
2026 Brennan Legacy Awards Celebrate Champions of Democracy

Superhero revealing American flag

BrianAJackson/Getty Images

2026 Brennan Legacy Awards Celebrate Champions of Democracy

The founders of our 18th‑century republic were acutely aware of how fragile their experiment in self‑government might prove, and one can easily imagine them welcoming a modern guardian like the Brennan Center for Justice. Within the wide canopy of organizations devoted to defending our democracy, the Center has emerged as a rare and unmistakable jewel.

For over 20 years, the Center has been dedicated to defending our democratic institutions and the rule of law, while protecting our civil liberties in the face of mounting authoritarian winds.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lessons Learned from “Lullabies from the Axis of Evil”

Residents sit amid debris in a residential building that was hit in an airstrike earlier this morning on March 30, 2026 in the west of Tehran, Iran.

(Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Lessons Learned from “Lullabies from the Axis of Evil”

There has been much commentary on the dark side of President Trump’s character and the lack of leadership at other high levels of government. These events and the American president's statements should not go unchallenged. His efforts to dehumanize an opponent and trivialize bombing campaigns as they are part of a video game are unfathomable and inconsistent with most of American history. We must never forget that America is killing people, many innocent civilians, with apparently little remorse.

The war in Iran has brought back a memory from when my son was born nearly 20 years ago. A friend of my wife’s, an anthropologist and college professor, sent us a baby gift. It was a CD of music titled “Lullabies from the Axis of Evil.” The term “Axis of Evil” was first used in President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union speech. He was referring to three countries that make up the axis: Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Putting aside, for the moment, our complicated relationship with those three countries, the lullabies CD reminds us that, despite our geopolitical differences, these countries are home to human beings. They work, love, eat, drink, and practice religion as we do – and they sing lullabies to their babies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Beyond the Politics: The Human Cost Behind the Israel–Iran Conflict

An Israeli and US flag is seen near the border with Southern Lebanon, as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on April 29, 2026 in Northern Israel, Israel.

(Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)