Democracy Watch 2025
Our country is facing a grave threat as those in power leverage bias and disinformation to push rights-restricting legislation through at the state and federal levels. Our communities, schools, libraries, elections, and individual freedoms are being placed at risk by escalating assaults on our rights. In response, Human Rights First launched Democracy Watch in 2025, to track and expose legislative trends that endanger our civil and human rights and undermine democratic processes and institutions. Since its launch, we have tracked a proliferation of authoritarian tactics targeting our states and hurting our communities. This year we saw a wide range of legislative strategies, including rollbacks on reproductive freedom, immigrant and refugee rights, free speech, LGBTQ+ equality, voting rights, and public education.
As the Trump administration continued to grow its inhumane mass deportation campaign, federal and state bills reflected that effort. This year we tracked legislation focused on funding the mass deportation effort, pushing restrictive asylum rules, and removing public benefits. At the federal level, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” added $45 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding, skyrocketing their budget to $85 billion, making them the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency. These funds have been used to rapidly expand enforcement and operationalize more detention centers across the country. Other anti-immigrant legislation focused on expedited removals, stricter asylum rules, and restricted public benefits while state actions expanded local enforcement agreements, surveillance programs, and data collection.
The right to protest remained central to the legislative strategies. We tracked 220+ bills that would restrict First Amendment rights in some form, with 85+ bills focused on protest rights. Restricting the right to assemble and protest is a hallmark of authoritarian rule and the United States continues to face legislative attacks on these constitutionally protected rights. State bills were introduced that would expand the definition of riot to include nonprofits and peaceful protestors; laws were passed that hampered First Amendment rights on campuses; bills were introduced that would eliminate harsh penalties for drivers who hit protestors with cars.
We traced the ongoing assault on gender, sexuality, and reproductive rights with 1,300+ bills, the majority of which focused on LGBTQ+ rights. LGBTQ+ rights remained a source of legislative energy with 840+ bills introduced in states across the country. Attacks on civil rights continued under laws banning diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools, agencies, and private entities. Public education remained a battleground for cross-cutting issues including student protests, gender rights, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. We found 230+ state bills and 16 federal bills that would restrict civil rights through anti-DEI(A) measures in public education. Likewise, legislation was introduced and passed that would create dangerous and unjust hurdles for attaining gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare.
This year we saw an increase in attacks on free and fair elections, tracking 480+ bills threatening elections at the state level, and 12+ at the federal level, a steep increase from 170 bills we tracked in 2024. Stemming from a failed attempt to pass the SAVE Act, states took up the effort with 100+ similar proof of citizenship and voter purge bills introduced. Other trends on elections and voting rights included banning ranked choice voting, increasing restrictions for mail-in ballots and creating unjust exclusions for registration and voter ID requirements.
The United States is facing a uniquely challenging era as our rights and freedoms are being assaulted and our democratic institutions dismantled. Shining a light on these trends provides a critical tool in the shared effort to stem this dangerous tide. Democracy Watch acts as a hub for engagement on these legislative trends and allows advocates, activists, researchers, and other concerned citizens to work towards a more resilient democracy for all.
