David Leonhardt: While you’re waiting ...

Before Mueller, read about a new civil-rights movement. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, April 18, 2019 [NYTimes.com/David-Leonhardt »]( [Op-Ed Columnist] Op-Ed Columnist If you want a good preview of the Mueller report, try [Asha Rangappa]( a former F.B.I. special agent writing in Politico; the law professor [Richard Hasen]( writing in Slate; or [Peter Baker]( in The Times. Since we don’t yet have the report, I’m going to devote today’s newsletter to a different topic. A new civil-rights movement There are plenty of reasons to be angry about voting rights. In Florida, Republican lawmakers are trying to keep people with criminal records from voting, as I explained in [a recent newsletter](. Elsewhere, legislators have passed laws making it harder to vote, especially for minority groups. And even before these changes, voting in the United States has been needlessly difficult — occurring on workdays and often involving long lines. So, yes, you should be angry about voting rights. But you should also realize that the situation is not hopeless. [Joshua Douglas]( a law professor at the University of Kentucky, has written a new book that explains how activists around the country are winning fights to make democracy work better. Thanks to their efforts, the state of voting rights is improving in many places, he argues. I think he’s right. Nevada, New York and Wyoming have recently made it easier for felons to vote. Florida has too, despite the efforts to undermine the new law. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have passed automatic voter registration since 2015. In some places, voting by mail has also expanded. In Kentucky, North Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin, people with disabilities or people who don’t speak English can more easily cast a ballot. “Everyday Americans are the main drivers of this early success. Call it the Democracy Movement,” Douglas writes in the book, which is called “[Vote for US](. “It is the way to fight back against big corporations and moneyed interests that impact the rules of the game. Citizens who care about our democracy can take a stand, organize, and push for meaningful reforms to state and local election processes. We can fix our election system.” His book tells the stories of a Virginia teacher trying to interest her students in civics, of a former Miss Wisconsin fighting against a voter-ID law and more. As Douglas argues, their optimism is essential to progress. “Because so much of the discussion of voting rights is doom and gloom, I wanted to focus on what is positive about reform efforts and what actually has worked,” he recently told HuffPost’s [Sam Levine](. “Optimism about what’s possible is the way to actually move forward.” Related: Douglas recommends my colleague Jamelle Bouie’s recent column, “[Tell Me Again Why Prisoners Can’t Vote.”]( And [Darren Sands]( of BuzzFeed News summarizes the voting-rights bill Cory Booker has introduced as part of his presidential campaign. The bill, Sands writes, would “end gerrymandering; stop voter suppression efforts, such as purging voters from the rolls; expand vote-by-mail, early voting, and same-day and online voter registration; make Election Day a national holiday; rid the election system of language barriers; and give US citizens returning from incarceration the right to vote.” ADVERTISEMENT If you enjoy this newsletter, forward it to friends! They can [sign up for themselves here]( — and they don’t need to be a Times subscriber. The newsletter is published every weekday, with help from my colleague Ian Prasad Philbrick. David’s Morning NYT Read [Oliver Sacks: The Healing Power of Gardens]( By OLIVER SACKS Even for people who are deeply disabled neurologically, nature can be more powerful than any medication. The Full Opinion Report [Ilhan Omar, Harbinger of Democratic Decline?]( By BRET STEPHENS With political power comes rhetorical responsibility. 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[For Refugee Children, Reading Helps Heal Trauma]( By RACHEL CERNANSKY Psychologists find that story time can build the strong relationships they need for healthy development. [‘Billy Budd,’ Tragically Charming the Boys for a Century]( By DAVID BELCHER Melville’s novel and Britten’s opera are poignant reminders of the beauty and relevance of gay history. [An Inside Job at Interior]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The new secretary, David Bernhardt, is under investigation on complaints that, as deputy, he used his office to advance the interests of former lobbying clients. [A TV Character Running for President? Crazy!]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The Ukrainian candidate Volodymyr Zelensky is hardly the first entertainer to get into politics — and he just might win. [Furor and Threats Over Remarks by Ilhan Omar]( Readers discuss attacks on the Muslim congresswoman, and how Democrats are torn over how to respond. 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