Election Protection: How lawyers can help uphold voters’ rights this November

Want to protect democracy and ensure voters’ rights? If you are looking to ways to volunteer during the 2018 midterm elections, there are opportunities available, especially for attorneys.

In this episode of the ABA Journal’s Asked & Answered podcast, Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Marsha Johnson-Blanco, co-director of the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, about how attorneys can help on Nov. 6.

Lawyers are needed to answer hotline calls in a variety of cities, answering questions at polling places and filing emergency motions. Johnson-Blanco says the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is hoping to have about 4,000 volunteers for the midterm elections, which are expected to be incredibly hard fought.

Training can be done online or in person, and volunteer work the day of the election usually takes as little as three hours. Emergency motions work should be done in a state where the volunteer is licensed to practice law, but for other jobs, state licensure is not needed. There is still time to sign up as a volunteer and complete the training program at their website.

Listen to the Podcast

In This Podcast:

Stephanie Francis Ward
Marcia F. Johnson-Blanco is the co-director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She also coordinates the nonprofit’s international human rights initiatives, including monitoring U.S. compliance with its treaty obligations and organizing under the International Decade of People of African Descent. She is chair of the board of the U.S. Human Rights Network and serves on the board of the U.S. Vote Foundation. Marcia received her JD from Villanova University School of Law.