Existing legislation trackers focus on a single topic of concern. Democracy Watch tracks, maps, and exposes legislation across many topics to effectively capture the breadth and scope of anti-democratic legislative action, allowing users to see trends that would otherwise remain hidden. Democracy Watch serves as an engagement hub on these legislative and strategic trends.


What makes this tool unique?

Democracy Watch is designed for fellow advocates, activists, and experts, policymakers and other elected officials, the media, community leaders, members of the military, members of school boards and educational institutions, students, leaders in tech, my parents, your parents, and concerned citizens. 


Who is this tracker for?

Democracy is a system of governance in which power is vested in its citizens and exercised either directly or indirectly through systems of representation, such as elections for government officials where people choose their leaders. A healthy and functioning democracy encompasses a diverse range of viewpoints and identities as it aims to represent all citizens regardless of race, class, sex, religion, or any other identity. American democracy, while imperfect, embraces this pluralism and seeks to provide equal rights to all. 

How do we define democracy?

Anti-Democratic is an umbrella term for policies, entities, and actors that contribute to the erosion of hard-won civil rights and progress toward equality, and democratic processes–such as elections and equal access to voting–in favor of government and social structures that maintain power for a specific leader or elite class. 


How are we using the term anti-democratic?

This tool tracks federal and state bills that directly or indirectly undermine democratic processes and institutions, target, or negatively impact specific communities including, but not limited to, immigrants, refugees, Jewish communities, Muslim communities, women, LGBTQ+ communities, Black and Brown communities, Asian American communities, Native Hawaiian and other indigenous communities, Pacific Islander communities, and others. 


What categories are included in the tracker?

While expansive, this is a beta version of the tool and is limited by our program’s scope, capacity, and resources. We would like to include additional categories in the future. If there is a specific topic area you would like to see added, or if you would like to partner with us in this effort, please reach out to us: democracywatch@humanrightsfirst.org


Why didn’t you include more categories?

The tool tracks federal and state bills that directly or indirectly undermine democratic processes and institutions, target, or negatively impact specific communities. It currently includes federal and state legislation introduced in 2023-2025 as well as executive actions in 2025. 


How many years have you been tracking? What will this cover?

Users will have public access to the legislation tracker where they will be able to search select categories of federal and state bills and track their progress and implementation across time and geographic location. Users will be able to download our curated data as well as produce interactive graphics to be used in reports, articles, etc. If you would like to use any of the data in your publications, please cite Human Rights First.


How will users engage with this tool, and can the data be reproduced?

Democracy Watch uses AI to collect legislation according to Human Rights First’s search parameters. It then “tags” the legislation according to categories we selected. A bill can have multiple tags. Our experts then review all the collected legislation before it is uploaded on the platform. 

To ensure our early searches were capturing the necessary breadth of legislation in our selected categories, we reviewed our content against other, publicly available legislation trackers.  

All of the data used in our tracker was independently selected, gathered, and analyzed by Human Rights First's internal processes.  

We regularly update the tracker with the latest developments for collected legislation and for new legislation, but that process takes time. The information on the site may not be the most current information about specific legislation, and the information on our site may not be complete or accurate.    

How does it work?

Our tool is not perfect, and it is important to note that this is a beta version and will be amended and improved over time in future iterations according to user feedback. If you believe the tool has erroneously included a bill or incorrectly tagged a bill, please contact us at democracywatch@humanrightsfirst.org so we can review and make any necessary adjustments. 


LEARN ABOUT
OUR TOOL

What makes this tool unique?

Who is this tracker for?

How do we define democracy?

How are we using the term anti-democratic?

What categories are included in the tracker?

Why didn’t you include more categories?

How many years have you been tracking? What will this cover?

How will users engage with this tool, and can the data be reproduced?

How does it work?

What if the user thinks a piece of legislation was added in error or tagged incorrectly?

LEARN ABOUTOUR TOOL

What makes this tool unique?

What makes this tool unique?

Who is this tracker for?

Who is this tracker for?

How do we define democracy?

How do we define democracy?

How are we using the term anti-democratic?

How are we using the term anti-democratic?

What categories are included in the tracker?

What categories are included in the tracker?

Why didn’t you include more categories?

Why didn’t you include more categories?

How many years have you been tracking? What will this cover?

How many years have you been tracking? What will this cover?

How will users engage with this tool, and can the data be reproduced?

How will users engage with this tool, and can the data be reproduced?

How does it work?

How does it work?

What if the user thinks a piece of legislation was added in error or tagged incorrectly?

What if the user thinks a piece of legislation was added in error or tagged incorrectly?

LEARN ABOUT
OUR TOOL