Our Work

On August 5, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with 5 other legal scholars in United States v. New York et al., a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The appeal concerns whether the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution bars three provisions of New York’s Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act that seek to limit disclosure of sensitive state data for immigration enforcement purposes. The federal government sued, arguing that New York’s policies were preempted by federal law and violated the judge-made doctrine of “intergovernmental immunity.” DOJ has made similar arguments in a range of recent cases.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has vastly expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence across the country, extending its reach to nearly every state and major city. In response, state and local governments are increasingly looking to location-specific protections, and to property law more broadly, to address the effects of this federal presence.

"Amid U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pledging to aggressively pursue voter fraud cases, voter and civil rights organizations are celebrating a federal court’s dismissal of a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking the private data of New York voters." (References SDRI Research.)

"The Justice Department can’t access New York’s or West Virginia’s unredacted voter rolls, judges said as they handed the federal government two more court losses in its quest to obtain the lists from all 50 states." (References SDRI Research.)

On June 17, 2026, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with six other legal scholars in United States v. New York et al., a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The appeal concerns whether the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution bars New York’s “Protect Our Courts Act” and several executive orders that limit state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Mail voting is under unprecedented federal pressure heading into the 2026 midterm elections. From the White House to the Supreme Court to Congress, a series of developments is threatening a form of voting that tens of millions of Americans rely on—and that was relatively uncontroversial until just a few years ago. This explainer examines how mail voting became a partisan battleground, what the current federal threats mean for mail voting, and what states, election officials, and advocates can do in response.

For decades, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) limited enforcement operations at so-called “sensitive locations” like courthouses, schools, or hospitals. But during both Trump Administrations, officials rescinded those guidelines. This report discusses states and localities’ ability to adopt their own state-law policies to protect “sensitive locations” from the disruption of warrantless immigration arrests.

"'It has arguably never been harder in American history than it is today, in 2026, to sue a federal official for money damages if they violate your constitutional rights,' Harrison Stark of University of Wisconsin Law School said."

State and local governments are increasingly using property law to push back on ICE operations. This report unpacks the viability of these efforts, from banning new detention centers to barring officers from staging operations on city property.

As part of President Trump’s efforts to expand federal control over the country’s historically state-run election infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Justice has demanded copies of states’ complete voter registration lists, including voters’ highly sensitive data like birthdates, partial Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers. The Justice Department has filed 31 federal lawsuits (so far)—against 30 states plus Washington, D.C.—seeking orders compelling these jurisdictions to turn over their data. This tracker monitors the Justice Department’s lawsuits.