Public Rights Project (PRP)

PRP supports the use of unstaffed ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin. ⁴ The group is planning to fight against efforts to hand-count ballots, litigate any challenges made against ballot tabulation, and push back against what it considers onerous public records requests against elections officials. ⁵

PRP has received funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as a part of the group’s efforts to change criminal justice and immigration laws. ⁶

History and Leadership

Public Rights Project (PRP) was founded in 2017 by Jill Habig. ^{2 7} As of April 2024, Habig is the CEO of PRP. ^{8 2} Prior to joining PRP, Habig worked on the Biden-Harris Transition team and the transition team of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). She also worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of Kamala Harris (D-CA). ⁷

Previously, Habig received a leadership in government fellowship from left-wing donor George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and a separate fellowship from the left-of-center Ashoka Foundation. ²

Habig has called female members of the U.S. Supreme court “justices with uteruses.” ⁹

Activities and Funding

Public Rights Project (PRP) is an activist group that attempts to embed left-of-center attorneys in local public law offices to pursue litigation using what PRP calls “affirmative litigation” to advance left-of-center policy goals. ^{1 6} PRP also works to create a government that delivers the far-left concept of equity. ²

As of April 2024, PRP claims to have more than 300 partners in 41 states. Its work is focused on the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. ^{2 3} The organization supports state, local, and tribal prosecutors and other government officials with legal resources and training to push back against what the group considers executive overreach. ² This is done through two-year fellowships in state and local public offices of left-of-center state and local governments. ¹⁰

PRP has claimed that more than half of Americans, particularly LGBT and minority groups, suffer from civil rights and human rights violations. Its lawsuits have won more than $40 million in settlements for individuals they claim were harmed by civil rights violations. ¹¹

The organization also supports expanded access to abortions ¹² and stronger labor rules for workers in the United States. ¹³

Post-2024 Activities

The Public Rights Project’s (PRP) 2025-2027 Strategic Plan advocates for increased use of DEI-related initiatives and to use “government power for good” through local government officials, claiming they are “uniquely positioned to stand up for what’s right when they have the right resources.” ¹⁴ The plan also calls for helping local elected officials that support PRP’s advocacy through a “Civil Rights Hub,” using its Election Protection Hub, establish “robust litigation function to strengthen our democracy,” and protect the group’s “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB).” ¹⁵ Kansas City, MO Mayor Quinton Lucas is reportedly a supporter of the PRP’s strategic plan, stating the group has a ““powerful network and strategy that spans every state in the country.” ¹⁴

Election-Related Activities

Public Rights Project runs the Election Protection Hub, which hopes to reach more than 200 elections officials and provide them with legal representation. As of April 2024, the Election Protection Hub’s efforts target Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. ¹⁶ PRP’s services for these officials would include filing amicus briefs, helping respond to what PRP deems “misinformation,” and other issues. ⁵

PRP supports the use of unstaffed ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin. ⁴ In the future, the organization is planning to fight against efforts to hand-count ballots, litigate any challenges made against ballot tabulation, and push back against public records requests against elections officials. ⁵ PRP claims these laws endanger voting access for low-income African American and Hispanic voters. ¹⁷

One of Public Rights Project’s clients is Pima County Arizona County Attorney Laura Conover, who was a party to the 2024 lawsuit seeking to overturn an Arizona abortion law that was enacted in 1864. ¹⁸ In 2023, PRP opposed the discipline of Georgia prosecutors in a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump who had been accused of wrongdoing. ¹⁹

In 2022, PRP partnered with Michigan election officials to respond to election challenges in Detroit. The group also supported efforts in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to prevent the invalidation of absentee ballots in a race that was ultimately decided by less than 100 votes. ²⁰

PRP opposed Florida legislation to ban far-left racial justice in its taxpayer-funded education system and  signed a letter with the Black Collective, Inc.,  Black Lives Matter, Chainless Change, Dream Defenders, Northside Coalition, Community Justice Project, Local Solutions Support Center, and the Southern Poverty Law Center to oppose it. ²¹

Funding

Public Rights Project is funded by individual contributions and grants. ²² In 2023, the organization reported revenue of $5,030,000 and expenses of $5,070,000. ²³

In 2023, Public Rights Project received $175,000 from the left-of-center Ford Foundation. ²⁴ In 2022, the group received $200,000 from the Mellon Foundation. ²⁵

PRP received funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as a part of the group’s efforts to change criminal justice and immigration laws. ⁶

The organization has also received funding from Arnold Ventures Bloomberg Philanthropies, the California Wellness Foundation, ²⁶ Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity, Crankstart Foundation, Democracy Fund, ²⁷ Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, ² Future Justice Fund, Hopewell Fund, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Inatai Foundation, Onward Together, Proteus Fund, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust. ²⁸