A crucial year
The coming years will be a trying period for our republic. Our freedom and self-government will be tested, potentially to the point of breaking. Every citizen, in ways big and small, will face choice points that could shape whether or not our democracy survives.
If You Can Keep It breaks down the top issues in authoritarianism and democracy in the United States. It is brought to you free of cost by Protect Democracy. But it exists exclusively to equip you with what you need to know about what’s happening in our democracy and what you can do about it.
Our experts go deep on the critical stories and complex issues beyond partisanship and politics. Can elections be conducted freely and fairly? Will the president be constrained by checks & balances? How can we ensure democratic decision-making is based on a shared, fact-based reality? What are the reforms necessary to build a more representative, inclusive, and resilient democracy?
But this is nothing new. Democracy has never been self-sustaining. As Benjamin Franklin famously said — when asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had produced — “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
We must find a way.
This briefing is a product of Protect Democracy United, a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization. Learn more.
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People
Ben Raderstorf is a policy advocate at Protect Democracy. He helps direct policy and communications work around systemic threats to American democracy. His writing has been published in The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Bulwark.
Current Counsel at Protect Democracy and former federal civil servant
Ellinor Heywood is an Impact and Litigation Specialist at Protect Democracy. She works on projects to protect the civil service and prevent the closing of civic space.
Former civil rights prosecutor, current pro-democracy lawyer. K-State/Oxford/Harvard Law grad.
Counsel at Protect Democracy (https://protectdemocracy.org).
William Ford is a policy advocate at Protect Democracy, where he advocates for measures to protect the civil service and strengthen Congress's constitutional power of the purse.
Michael Angeloni is a Research Specialist at Protect Democracy, where he examines democratic backsliding and threats to the rule of law in a global context.
Cerin Lindgrensavage is a counsel at Protect Democracy who works on advocacy, research and litigation related to preventing the abuse of executive authority and supporting the Congress and courts as a check against executive branch overreach.
Genevieve Nadeau leads our team focused on defending against a range of authoritarian threats at the state and national levels, using a combination of strategic litigation, policy advocacy, and communications.
Jennifer Dresden is a policy strategist at Protect Democracy. She was previously a member of the faculty and the Associate Director of the Democracy and Governance Program at Georgetown University.
Anna Dorman is a Counsel at Protect Democracy focused on combating anti-democratic disinformation through litigation and creative advocacy.
David Andrew Weinberg is a Policy Strategist at Protect Democracy. He previously served as a Senior Professional Staff Member with the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Deborah Apau is a research specialist dedicated to supporting Protect Democracy’s mission of creating a truly representative democracy.
Ansley Skipper is a communications associate at Protect Democracy. She helps expose threats to American democracy and identify actionable solutions to defend it, primarily through our newsletter, If You Can Keep It.
Deana El-Mallawany is counsel and director of impact programs overseeing Protect Democracy's medium and long-term democratic resilience strategies.
I oversee Protect Democracy’s work to ensure that pro-democracy civil society actors remain resilient in the face of autocratic tactics, and to protect the right to free expression and dissent that are required for a healthy democracy.
Policy Strategist at Protect Democracy. Advocate focused on strengthening checks and balances and building a bigger tent.
Michael Alexander Sandoval is an Impact Associate at Protect Democracy, where he supports policy and strategic communications work around systemic threats to American democracy, and building the democracy of tomorrow.
Mickey Desruisseaux is an attorney who specializes in protecting election officials and voters from threats.
Jiamin Huang is a Data Scientist at VoteShield, a project of Protect Democracy, where she analyzes voter registration and absentee ballot data to help protect free and fair elections.
Stephanie is Co-Managing Director and a counsel at Protect Democracy. She oversees the strategic direction and organizational development of the organization.
Brad Jacobson leads VoteShield. We are data scientists, engineers, and advocates who analyze public data, like voter files, to make sure our elections are free and fair.
Chris Parr is an Impact Specialist at Protect Democracy. He previously served as a legal analyst in the Department of Defense Office of General Counsel and as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Catherine serves as Counsel at Protect Democracy, focusing on protecting voting rights and free and fair elections.
Megan Lyle is a Frontend Engineer for the Voteshield team. She has a Bachelors of Arts from Monmouth College, majors in both Computer Science and Mathematics, and has held roles in software development, frontend development, and devops.
Quinn Raymond co-founded VoteShield in 2017. He works closely with election officials, computer scientists, and data analysts to ensure the integrity of voter registration and absentee ballot data across the nation.
Brittany Williams is a litigator who focuses on combating disinformation that undermines our democracy.
Orion Danjuma serves as counsel at Protect Democracy, focusing on voting rights, protecting election officials, preventing voter intimidation, and ensuring free and fair elections.
Christian Johnson is a Machine Learning Engineer and Policy Strategist with Protect Democracy’s VoteShield team. Prior to joining Protect Democracy, he was a data scientist at the RAND Corporation.
Ori Lev is a Special Counsel with Protect Democracy. He previously served in a number of federal government agencies and as a partner at a major international law firm. Ori is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Yale Law School.
Views are my own. NeverTrump from the jump, Bulwark fam & stan. Former reporter, Hill staffer, CNN contributor. Currently an Editor at Protect Democracy. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter! ifyoucankeepit.org 🇺🇸
Current Counsel at Protect Democracy and former federal civil servant
Ian Bassin is co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel, where he counseled the President and senior White House staff on administrative and constitutional law.
Grant Tudor is a policy advocate with Protect Democracy, where develops and advocates for a range of reforms to shore up our democratic institutions.
Director of Impact Programs & Counsel, Free & Fair Elections @ Protect Democracy
Technology Policy Strategist working to combat anti-democratic applications of technology, including voter suppression and disinformation. Former Facebook.
Justin Florence co-founded Protect Democracy and, as Managing Director, oversees the organization’s work to advance its mission, including legal, policy, advocacy and communications strategies.
Aaron does comms at Protect Democracy, helping spread the message about threats facing American democracy.
Rachel Goodman is an attorney and leads Protect Democracy's work on Free Expression and the Right to Dissent.
Lead comms & advocacy strategist for elections at Protect Democracy, but also thinking a lot about how we got to this moment, how to navigate it, and what we should be doing to get ourselves to the other side.
Jon Steinman is a communications and advocacy strategist at Protect Democracy, focusing on efforts to hold accountable those who undermine democracy. He previously was a journalist, and helped launch and lead the US Office of Congressional Ethics.
JoAnna Suriani is a counsel at Protect Democracy where she focuses on building a broad pro-democracy coalition to push back on executive overreach, protect separation of powers, and respond to attacks on the judiciary.
Kenneth Parreno is a Counsel at Protect Democracy focused on combating disinformation through litigation and other forms of advocacy. He is a proud Latino, Texan, and son of immigrants.
Policy advocate at Protect Democracy, focused on national security
Janine Lopez is a Counsel at Protect Democracy focused on defending the rule of law through litigation and other forms of advocacy.
Beau is Counsel & Head of the National Elections and National Security Team at the non-partisan non-profit Protect Democracy.
Special Counsel at Protect Democracy https://protectdemocracy.org/people/shalini-goel-agarwal/
Victoria Bullock is a Paralegal and Impact Associate at Protect Democracy where she supports advocacy and impact initiatives in key states.
Policy Advocate at Protect Democracy. https://protectdemocracy.org/people/alex-tausanovitch/
Edgar Lin is Protect Democracy’s Wisconsin lead for policy advocacy and litigation focusing on preventing election subversion. Former trial lawyer (WI public defender / private practice).
Alan Palazzolo is the Engineering Team Manager of Protect Democracy’s VoteShield team. He guides the Engineering team and architects our technology platforms that help make impactful decisions for our organization and election administrators.
Ben Gips is an Impact Specialist at Protect Democracy. His work focuses primarily on technology and election security.
Aisha Woodward leads a team at Protect Democracy focused on constraining the abuse of presidential power, restoring congressional oversight of the executive branch, and growing the pro-democracy coalition.
Alicia Menendez focuses on protecting voting rights and a free and fair elections process.
Jane Petersen Bentrott is a litigator who focuses on combating disinformation that undermines our democracy.
Lara Hicks is an Impact Associate at Protect Democracy, where she supports efforts to constrain abuses of executive power.
Shanna Singh Hughey is a policy strategist at Protect Democracy who focuses on preventing an autocratic president from dismantling our democracy.
Amit Agarwal is Special Counsel at Protect Democracy and a former Solicitor General of Florida.
Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to prevent authoritarianism.