Speaking Freely With the ACLU-PA

In 2024, ACLU-PA and our partners have taken a different approach with our legal strategy than in past election cycles. This year, we’ve implemented a proactive strategy to make sure that voters who want to cast a ballot can do so without unnecessary hurdles.

Vic Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, joins the pod to talk about it. By the time you listen to this, it’s possible that there will be new rulings in the cases discussed in this episode. To get the latest updates, go to www.aclupa.org/litigation and click the dropdown box to choose “voting rights.”

In the run up to this year’s election, we here at the ACLU knew that candidates would be talking about the two issues of immigration and public safety. Knowing that was coming, the ACLU has been engaged all year in a research project called Battleground Blueprint. We’ve deployed multiple rounds of surveys in multiple states, including Pennsylvania, to get a better look at voters’ attitudes on these two issues.

On this episode, we’ll hear from three people who have been actively involved in this project - Ellen Flenniken, deputy director of the ACLU’s Justice Division, Anu Joshi, national campaigns director on immigration for the ACLU, and Jeff Liszt, a partner at Impact Research, the pollster that conducted the survey in Pennsylvania.

More information about the Pennsylvania results is available here: https://www.aclupa.org/solutions

And information about the nationwide project is here: https://www.aclu.org/battleground-polling

More than 20 years ago, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit people who are living with a criminal record from voting. But misinformation about those rights persists here in Pennsylvania.

In this episode, we hear from ACLU-PA executive director Mike Lee and Saleem Holbrook, executive director of Abolitionist Law Center and a member of ACLU-PA’s board of directors. Mike and Saleem talk about who can and can’t vote in PA based on their involvement with the criminal legal system and why it matters.

Learn more about voting with a criminal conviction here:

https://www.aclupa.org/en/know-your-rights/voting-criminal-conviction

And learn more about the Abolitionist Law Center at their website:

https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/

The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently wrapped up its work on the new state budget. Elizabeth Randol, ACLU-PA’s legislative director, talks about all that has happened in this session around civil liberties. Liz dives into ACLU-PA’s priority issues, including voting rights, free speech, and decarceration, and also talks about emerging issues that came to the fore in this session.

For more information about ACLU-PA's legislative work, including our scorecard of how legislators voted, visit www.aclupa.org/legislation.

The impact that counties have on how we vote, where we vote, and even whether our vote is counted is enormous. On this episode, we hear from Beth Gilbert of Action Together NEPA and In This Together NEPA, where she is the voting and elections manager, and Marian Schneider, senior policy counsel for voting rights at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Beth and Marian describe the ways in which counties impact how elections are run and also some of the current issues with county administration of elections in Pennsylvania.

Visit www.actiontogethernepa.org, www.inthistogethernepa.org, and aclupa.org/letpeoplevote to learn more.

Historically, America’s public schools have been spaces where debates and resistance to civil liberties have played out. From racial integration to political protests, protecting the rights of students has been central to the story of constitutional rights.

The times we’re in now are no different. In this episode, we hear from three advocates who have been helping people organize to support inclusive education in their schools - Alex Domingos of ACLU-PA, Ashli Giles-Perkins of the Education Law Center, and Ronna Dewey of Red Wine and Blue PA. The organizations are part of a new coalition called Pennsylvanians for Welcoming and Inclusive Schools, or PAWInS. Ashli, Ronna, and Alex talk about why the coalition came together and what you can do if you feel moved to advocate for inclusive education at your school district.

Learn more about PAWInS at www.pawins.org.

In episode 83, we’re introducing our new executive director, Mike Lee. Mike joined ACLU-PA in January after serving for six years in the administration of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. In this conversation, Mike talks about what brought him to this moment leading the ACLU of Pennsylvania, his vision for the organization, and our priorities for 2024.

In February, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he would continue the moratorium on executions started by his predecessor, Tom Wolf. Shapiro also went a step further than Wolf, calling on the legislature to repeal the death penalty in its entirety.

Marc Bookman is the executive director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, a former attorney in the homicide unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and the author of A Descending Spiral: Exposing the Death Penalty in 12 Essays. In this conversation, Marc explains just how dysfunctional capital punishment is in Pennsylvania and why, despite two decades since the last execution, the death penalty is very real in the commonwealth.

Resources:

Atlantic Center for Capital Representation: https://www.atlanticcenter.org/

A Descending Spiral: Exposing the Death Penalty in 12 Essays: https://thenewpress.com/books/descending-spiral

Libraries are a critical institution for supporting the freedom to read and freedom of thought. In the United States, libraries have been terribly underfunded for years, and now they’re being targeted by extremist activists for fulfilling their fundamental mission - to promote access to ideas.

Library Freedom Project is challenging that and working to maintain the library’s place in our democratic society. In this episode, we hear from Alison Macrina, director of Library Freedom Project, which works to protect “information democracy.”

Resources

Library Freedom Project: https://libraryfreedom.org/

Pennsylvania’s 2023 primary election is right around the corner, on May 16, and with the delivery of mail and absentee ballots, voting is already underway. So the time is right to hear from Marian Schneider, ACLU-PA’s senior policy counsel for voting rights, and Khalif Ali, formerly of Common Cause PA and now with the New Pennsylvania Project. Marian and Khalif talk about the state of democracy, what challenges we’re facing in protecting the vote, and what opportunities may arise with changes in power at the state capitol.

Resources

Know your voting rights: www.aclupa.org/vote

Nonpartisan election protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)

Common Cause PA: www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania

New Pennsylvania Project: www.newpaproject.org