Ahead of the midterms, voting experts release updated state election certification guides explaining who certifies election results, what the law requires, and the safeguards that help ensure the process works as intended — including in seven battleground states.

Voting Experts Release Updated State Election Certification Law Guides Ahead of Midterms

Eight state guides detail the election certification process and the laws safeguarding it. Seven of the guides cover battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvan...

brennancenter.org

Last week, a leaked document published by @404media.co revealed how ICE hides the identities of agents who investigate social media and other online forums. The document details how ICE uses new technologies to cover up the identities, locations, and digital footprints of investigators. 1/9

ICE relies on covert browsing infrastructure to monitor online activity | Biometric Update

Leaked records reveal how ICE conceals investigators' identities while monitoring social media, online communities and dark web forums.

biometricupdate.com

DHS has committed over $2.9 billion to surveillance, data collection & data analytics tools since 2021. This tech arsenal has only grown under the Trump administration, with little oversight or transparency around how these tools are used, raising serious concerns about privacy & civil liberties. 1/

DHS’s Domestic Surveillance, Data Collection, and Analytics Tools

Fueled by a budget boom, the Department of Homeland Security is expanding its technological arsenal, with little oversight or transparency around how these tools are used.

brennancenter.org

I'm thrilled to have this resource out today - it represents months of research and analysis and creative data visualization work by my amazing colleagues. Please share widely, and let us know if you have any questions or think we've missed anything!

Congress surrendered one of its most powerful checks on the Department of Homeland Security when it added $70 billion for immigration enforcement to the agency's already massive budget. It can regain that leverage by demanding meaningful reforms at DHS. #BrennanenEspañol

Absolute genius. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-w...

I Watched the Copa Mundial Non-Stop on Telemundo for Cinco Weeks and Now I Don’t Hablar Inglés Anymore

“Hola, Chad aquí, de Greenwich, Connecticut, a muy blanco área of los Estados Unidos. A few weeks ago, I decidir to watch Estados Unidos vs. Paraguay in fútb...

mcsweeneys.net

AI-boosted surveillance technologies are "are too powerful and too risky" to be contracted for by police departments in secret, says @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social. #[bit.ly/4gYjvaj

Florida enters new era of AI policing, politically connected firm gets contracts

A California company has a $6 million agreement with Florida for an AI software platform for law enforcement, and local police agencies are using state grants to buy the firm's software.

orlandosentinel.com

1/ The Supreme Court’s ruling in Chatrie v. United States is a win for privacy. In a 6-3 decision (with Justice Gorsuch concurring in judgment), the Court ruled that police need a warrant to obtain a person’s cell phone location information from a third party. Some background and key takeaways:

From @margyoh.bsky.social: "Congress surrendered its most powerful check over DHS earlier this month when it added $70 billion for immigration enforcement to the agency’s already massive budget. But Congress can act to regain its power." Amen! www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

ICE and Customs and Border Protection Budgets to Exceed $200 Billion

Without congressional action, the money will allow the Trump administration to carry out its immigration crackdown unimpeded.

brennancenter.org

As police departments increasingly embrace AI, it’s "especially concerning " that the tech could be used to "supercharge" surveillance and enforcement, says @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social.

Police use of artificial intelligence grows as rules lag behind • Stateline

Hundreds of people fill a downtown street for a protest, waving signs and chanting as they march past businesses and government buildings. Overhead, a police drone records video of the crowd. Nearby t...

stateline.org

This story hasn't gotten enough attention: Sec of State Marco Rubio recommended the arrest & deportation of Franklin Coral Garrido, a Colombian national w/ a pending asylum claim & valid work permit, because of Garrido's advocacy against a Colombian political candidate President Trump supports. 1/7

This is an incredible new resource - a deep dive into the laws governing how every state and similar jurisdiction in the US can use its National Guard.

Joseph Nunn@josephanunn.bsky.social · last mo.

Governors of many U.S. states and territories have sweeping power to use National Guard troops with relatively few legal constraints, new Brennan Center research shows. This is a dangerous state of affairs that’s ripe for abuse. Legislatures must act. 1/21

I was so glad to join the amazing women of @wedissentpod.bsky.social to talk about the dangerous expansion of domestic terrorism authorities to target nonprofits. Give it a listen!

Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 2mo ago

Brennan Center’s @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social joined We Dissent to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to punish nonprofits over speech and viewpoints it opposes: we-dissent.org

Yes - please join us this Sunday at 5 pm at the CT Ave Politics & Prose! Andrew is a great writer & brilliant thinker; this conversation will be a lot of fun.

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson@profferguson.bsky.social · 4mo ago

DC folks. This Sunday, April 12, I will be at Politics and Prose in conversation with the amazing Rachel Levinson-Waldman of the Brennan Center about my book — Your Data Will Be Used Agaisnt You. Stop by and support your local bookstore. politics-prose.com/andrew-guthr...

Congress is about to vote on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Originally meant to monitor foreigners overseas, it’s been abused to surveil Americans. This is a chance to finally protect Americans’ privacy. bit.ly/4tASUmW

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

For too long, this law has allowed the government to evade privacy protections and spy on Americans. Reform is overdue.

brennancenter.org

New from my @brennancenter.org colleagues: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

Sending ICE to Polling Places Is Illegal

Armed federal agents have absolutely no business near election sites.

brennancenter.org

Congress needs to mandate testing and evaluation of AI that poses risks to the safety of military personnel, to Americans’ privacy rights and civil liberties, and to civilians’ lives. bit.ly/40rNSg4

The Military’s Use of AI, Explained

The risks to soldiers and civilians are mounting as the Pentagon races to adopt the latest commercial advances in artificial intelligence.

brennancenter.org

As @amostoh.bsky.social and I explain in our new report, the military has been ramping up its adoption of AI, while oversight and safeguards have failed to keep up. But the Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic has brought a grave threat into focus: using AI to pry into Americans’ private lives 🧵 1/

The Business of Military AI

The Pentagon has been spending tens of billions of dollars to adopt new technologies at breakneck speed. Without oversight and safeguards, military applications of artificial intelligence could jeopar...

brennancenter.org

1/ As the US continues AI-enabled strikes on Iran, new @brennancenter.org research from @emileayoub.bsky.social and me examines how the military’s investments in the technology have been building to this moment. Congress must step up and reckon with AI’s dangers to life, liberty, and democracy 🧵:

The Business of Military AI

The Pentagon has been spending tens of billions of dollars to adopt new technologies at breakneck speed. Without oversight and safeguards, military applications of artificial intelligence could jeopar...

brennancenter.org

The Trump administration is going after political opponents under the banner of "domestic terrorism," including environmental activists. “They make pretty clear that it is ideology itself that is going to be targeted," says @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social:

Is the FBI Investigating Environmental Activists? - Inside Climate News

A recent visit by an FBI agent to a climate activist hints at a broadening Trump administration effort to target political opponents.

insideclimatenews.org

Trump's "massive and ongoing operation" against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution's separation of powers. In our democracy, the president does not have the kingly power to plunge the nation into war without democratic debate and sanction. /1 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Trump's Iran Strikes Are Unconstitutional

Congress must act.

brennancenter.org

The Pentagon wants AI that can fight wars without limits. Anthropic says there are lines it won't cross. And this week, that standoff turned into an all-out confrontation. To unpack the news, I spoke to Kat Duffy from the Council on Foreign Relations and Amos Toh from the Brennan Center:

How to Think About the Anthropic-Pentagon Dispute

A conversation with Kat Duffy from the Council on Foreign Relations and Amos Toh from the Brennan Center for Justice.

techpolicy.press

Thanks to @knightcolumbia.org for giving me the opportunity to write about this as part of their larger project on reconstructing free expression - it’s such an important effort and I can’t wait to see what comes out of it.

Jameel Jaffer@jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Here’s @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social on protecting free speech and privacy against unregulated surveillance of social media. knightcolumbia.org/blog/ending-...

Last July, we warned that the administration’s policy against “woke AI” would heap pressure on the tech industry to quash dissent. Today, it is pressuring industry to roll back safeguards aimed at preventing the mass surveillance of Americans, and lethal targeting without human oversight.

How Trump’s AI Policy Could Compromise the Technology

A new executive order says that the government will only buy artificial intelligence models that are neutral and nonpartisan, but in reality, the policy would require technology companies to conform t...

brennancenter.org

Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 5mo ago

Guardrails don’t undermine military AI. In fact, they're needed to improve the tech’s safety and reliability, says @amostoh.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2026/02/27/p...

Such a treat to have this conversation with Mary C Curtis!

Brennan Center@brennancenter.org · 5mo ago

The Trump administration’s expansive use of the “domestic terrorism” label threatens Americans’ First Amendment rights, @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social tells CQ Roll Call.

This is astonishing. A must read. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks

Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

theguardian.com

The SAVE Act could block millions of Americans from voting. It is not common sense. If passed, it would be the first time in history Congress passed a vote suppression law. #SOTU

The SAVE Act would make voting harder for millions of Americans. It’s based on the lie that noncitizens routinely vote in our elections — the truth is that noncitizen voting is already illegal and vanishingly rare. bit.ly/4qS8wBr

The Bad Voting Bill that Refuses to Die

The SAVE Act would stop millions of eligible Americans from voting.

brennancenter.org

Interested in Anthropic v DOD? Important thread below from expert on military use of AI 👇👇👇

Amos Toh@amostoh.bsky.social · 5mo ago

1/ The dispute between Anthropic and DOD over the limits of using AI in warfare is escalating. I’ll have more to say on what these limits should be in a @brennancenter.org report out next month. But for now, here’s what you need to know, and what’s truly at stake 🧵: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/t...

Great piece by @jakelaperruque.bsky.social about how ICE is spying on observers and protesters and what Congress and state and local legislatures should do to stop it. www.techpolicy.press/how-ice-will...

How ICE Will Spy On Protesters, And How You Can Protect Your Privacy

Jake Laperruque explains how ICE’s expanding surveillance tools can track protesters through phones, faces, and vehicles.

techpolicy.press