A Product of the Innovation Lab & The Democracy Protection Program
Democracy Watch: Legislation Tracker
Our democracy is under attack by a movement determined to erode hard-won civil and human rights in favor of a government and society that maintains power for a select few. This anti-democratic movement uses insidious strategies and tactics that are often difficult to detect. The movement masks its intentions by leveraging mainstream tools and processes, like legislation, to simultaneously target diverse communities and democratic institutions. The Democracy Watch tool tracks, maps, and exposes legislation, effectively capturing the breadth and scope of anti-democratic or rights restricting legislative action. As advocates for a pluralistic, multiracial democracy, we are providing a vital tool to counter these threats.
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Human Rights First's Democracy Protection Program tracks and exposes mainstream efforts to leverage, co-opt, and infiltrate legitimate democratic institutions, processes, and policies to advance anti-democratic norms and institutionalize bigotry. Whether it is equality in the military, humane immigration policies, equitable public education, or equal rights for all, the threads that bind our democracy together must remain strong. Support our work to build societies that value and invest in all people and respect civil and human rights.
Tracking Legislative Threats
Targeting Our Communities and Our Democracy
Human Rights First developed Democracy Watch to track, map, and expose trends in federal and state bills that directly or indirectly undermine democratic processes (i.e. free and fair elections), weaken democratic institutions (i.e. public education), or harm specific diverse communities, including immigrants, refugees, Jewish communities, Muslim communities, women, LGBTQ+ communities, Black and Brown communities, Asian American communities, Native Hawaiian and other indigenous communities, Pacific Islander communities, and others.
What is Democracy and What is Anti-Democratic?
Democracy is a system of governance in which power is vested in citizens and exercised either directly or indirectly through systems of representation, such as elections for government officials where people choose their leaders. A healthy and functioning democracy encompasses a diverse range of viewpoints and identities as it aims to represent all citizens regardless of race, class, sex, religion, or any other identity. American democracy, while imperfect, embraces this pluralism and seeks to provide equal rights to all.
Anti-Democratic is an umbrella term for policies, entities, and actors that contribute to the erosion of hard-won civil rights, progress toward equality, and democratic processes–such as elections and equal access to voting–in favor of government and social structures that maintain power for a specific leader or elite class.
Anti-Democratic and rights restricting Legislation refers to bills that harm democracy by directly or indirectly restricting or removing the basic rights of individuals based on their identities–such as immigrants, trans people, Black people, or Jewish people–or by limiting or dismantling democratic processes (i.e. free and fair elections) or democratic institutions (i.e. public education).
Read More About Democracy WatchLegislation
Exposes the types of locations of legislation that are anti-democratic, rights restricting, or the types and location of legislation that is leveraged by the anti-democratic movement throughout the country.
Officials
Officials who have sponsored/co-sponsored legislation that furthers the movement's goals.
Categories
The following categories are umbrella terms for the most common types of antidemocratic legislation:
Legislation that harms individuals based on their gender, gender identity, sex, sexuality, disability, and/or reproductive capacities.
Legislation that harms individuals based on their racial, religious, national, and ethnic groups such as immigrants, refugees, the Jewish community, the Muslim community, Black and Brown communities, the Asian American Pacific Islander communities, and other minority communities across the United States.
Legislation that threatens elections processes, election results, or the institutions that support democratic processes.
Legislation that harms active-duty military, veteran communities, and their families.
Sub-categories
The following sub-categories are umbrella terms for the most common types of antidemocratic legislation within the four categories outlined above:
Legislation that harms Asian American, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities in the United States, including their representation and histories. This also includes the Sikh community.
Legislation that harms Black communities in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and broader community of sexual identities and performance in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms Latino, Latina, and LatinX communities in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms Muslim American and Arab American communities in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms immigrants, migrants, refugees in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms Jewish communities in the United States, including their representation and histories.
Legislation that harms diversity, equity, inclusion, and ability initiatives. These initiatives support the representation and provision of equal opportunities for all racial, religious, ethnic, sexual, and gendered demographics.
Legislation that harms educational institutions, educators, and curriculum.
Legislation that harms election processes and outcomes.
Legislation that threatens freedom of the press or media in all of its forms.
Legislation that harms the recording, tracking, or prosecution of hate crimes and hate incidents.
Legislation that threatens access to healthcare and medical services.
Legislation that threatens the autonomy of librarians and staff as well as the public's access to reading and educational material that is representative of all communities.
Legislation that threatens the rights and representation of people based on their gender or sexuality.
Legislation that threatens public accommodations in the public and private sphere.
Legislation that threatens the right to access and attain reproductive health care.
Legislation that threatens voters' rights to equal representation in federal, state, and local elections.
DISCLAIMER:
The legislation tracker uses AI to recognize and categorize legislation and policy that is anti-democratic, rights restricting or that is leveraged by the anti-democratic movement according to Human Rights First's definitions. If you believe the tool has erroneously labeled a bill as “anti-democratic” or incorrectly categorized a bill, please contact us at extremisminfo@humanrightsfirst.org. We expose the movement's efforts to leverage, co-opt, and at times infiltrate legitimate democratic processes, policies, and institutions to mainstream and institutionalize hate.
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