On January 25, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order stating that birthright citizenship would be denied to children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors to the U.S. On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Trump v. Barbara that the order was unconstitutional. In this brief, we discuss the background and implications of this decision:

Everything Policy analysts are exploring what the Founding Fathers might say about the evolution of our political system. In this brief, we consider modern political parties from the viewpoint of George Washington, leader of America’s armed forces during the Revolutionary War, presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention, and the first President of the United States.

Elections used to be a simple matter. Thirty years ago, almost 90% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day. Voting by mail was mostly for the elderly, disabled, military members, or people who would not be home on Election Day and needed to cast an absentee vote. Early in-person voting before Election Day was rare.