Description:

The Election Law Project (“ELP”) offers tangible opportunities to learn about and engage with the electoral process, voting rights, and democracy reform. In the 2023-24 school year, we will have two parallel nonprofit partnerships and volunteer opportunities.

First, we are partnering with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (“FRRC”), which works to end disenfranchisement for people with convictions. Student volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about civil rights for reentering citizens and will specifically write analyses of whether individuals are eligible for re-enfranchisement under Florida law.

Second, we are also partnering with the voting rights teams at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and Southern California. Student volunteers will help the ACLU compile a first-of-its-kind community guide on the implementation of noncitizen voting in California local governments. This year-long research opportunity will expose students to state constitutional case law, local government law, and community organizing.

Commitment Required of Members:

For the FRRC, we expect students to take on at least three cases per quarter (each of which should take 1 to 2 hours). We hope students will regularly complete cases, but, if absolutely necessary, we can adjust a volunteer’s commitment based on capacity.

For the ACLU research project, students will commit to seeing the research project through completion, which may run through the end of Winter or Spring Quarter. Project time commitments will likely be flexible and variable, building around a few major deadlines, though we expect the project will require approximately 12 to 16 hours of work per quarter. Project coordinators will work around major deadlines for 1L volunteers when setting deadlines (e.g., LRW submissions, finals).

Open Membership Spots: 12

Adv. Degree Student Participation: Permitted

Winter Start: Fall start preferred, but Winter start permitted.

Eligible for Meeting NYS Bar Pro Bono Requirement: Some work might be eligible, but likely not all work.

Project Leaders: Isaac Cui, Gareth Fowler, and Saseen Najjar