Trial Magazine
Feature
Cast & Counted: Volunteer to Protect The Right To Vote
Participating in elections is a key way to voice your opinion about the issues and policies that matter to you. Election outcomes affect everything from legislative priorities to who sits on the bench across the country. And as plaintiff attorneys, voting for pro-civil-justice candidates is critical to safeguarding your clients’ rights, holding wrongdoers accountable, and protecting the Seventh Amendment.
As another Election Day approaches, read about volunteering to ensure voters have access to the polls, some of your colleagues’ most powerful voting experiences, and the potential consequences of recent SCOTUS decisions restricting voting rights.
The fundamental right to vote in American democracy should ensure that every person’s voice is heard when electing the people who will represent us. But in recent years, there have been efforts to suppress voters’ access to the polls across the country. To help combat voter suppression, AAJ created its Voter Protection Action Committee (VPAC) in 2012 to help protect the right to vote. VPAC has coordinated with national organizations to get lawyers, paralegals, and law students to volunteer at polling places, work in call centers, and work with local and national organization field offices on Election Day. As Tuesday, Nov. 6 approaches, AAJ will again call on plaintiff attorneys to help safeguard voting rights and make sure that all votes are cast and counted.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney Ed Zebersky, who served as the first chair of VPAC, emphasized the importance of volunteering on Election Day. “One of our basic rights as American citizens is the right to vote. With that right, we have the power to determine our own destiny,” he noted. “Unfortunately, over recent years, there has been a movement by some to allow only certain citizens to vote. If we allow this to happen, it unravels the basic bulwark of our democracy.”
Strict voter identification laws, limited early voting periods, confusion about the correct polling place, and more contribute to people not being able to exercise their constitutional right. These barriers to voting disproportionately impact low-income and minority voters, creating a group of citizens who do not have a say in who represents them at the local, state, and national levels and whose voices are not heard on important issues that affect their lives.
As advocates for civil justice, plaintiff attorneys witness every day how legislative and policy decisions affect injured clients—and the injustice that occurs when these decisions impede people’s rights. By volunteering on Election Day, you can help ensure that voters have fair and equal access to cast their ballots. Members should watch their email for more information about ways to get involved or contact outreach@justice.org.
Why I Volunteer
AAJ Past President and 2018 VPAC Chair Julie Braman Kane talked with Trial about why she volunteers to protect the right to vote and why attorneys should get involved this election season.
Why did you become involved with VPAC?
After serving for more than three years on the Florida Elections Commission, which ensures transparency in the state’s elections and investigates violations of Florida’s elections code, media stories of voters being kept from the polls infuriated me. I wanted to take more definitive action—not just regarding campaign finance and transparency as I did with the commission, but more so to provide those who were disenfranchised access to the ballot. I decided not to seek reappointment to the commission and focus instead on finding a way to harness the talents of our incredible membership. In 2012, as AAJ treasurer, I lobbied AAJ’s Executive Committee and was met with incredible support to implement AAJ’s Voter Protection Action Committee to place trial lawyers in polling places to protect the vote in all 50 states.
What has been most meaningful for you in this work?
VPAC is my proudest accomplishment as an AAJ officer. We will never know how many Americans were able to vote because of our work, but we know that in the polling places where our lawyers have volunteered over the years, no one was disenfranchised without a fight and without representation. I have personally worked at a poll in Georgia and in war rooms here in Florida. I cherish my memories of fighting for enfranchisement and will continue to volunteer for voter protection for years to come.
What is significant about plaintiff attorneys volunteering?
As trial lawyers, we are uniquely skilled and positioned to advocate for voters who may not know how to advocate for themselves. Unfortunately, people who are disenfranchised at polling places often are unsure of their rights, unsure of their obligations, and submissive to unfair burdens or undue harassment. Nationally, candidates who support access to the courts and civil justice need to be sure that voters have the right to cast their ballots, and they rely on us and people like us who are willing to stand up and advocate for those who either don’t know that they can or don’t know that they should. Over the past three elections, our members have protected the right of the potentially disenfranchised to vote across the country. Our help is critical to ensuring American citizens’ right to vote and also the candidates’ right to have all voters’ voices considered and counted.
