With election season well underway, it's time to start thinking about Election Protection ("EP") volunteering! The Massachusetts Bar Association is proud to collaborate with Lawyers for Civil Rights ("LCR"), which will once again be running Massachusetts' EP program for November's presidential election. We're reaching out early to alert MBA members to this volunteer EP opportunity.
Massachusetts' EP program is a statewide, non-partisan effort to ensure that all commonwealth residents have an equal opportunity to access the ballot box. The program consists of two main parts: (1) a call center staffed by attorneys; and (2) a field program of hundreds of volunteers who provide in-person election day assistance to voters at historically problematic polling places. LCR is currently interested in recruiting volunteers for the field program.
In order to volunteer on election day (Tues., Nov. 5), volunteers will need to attend one in-person training and commit to a minimum of one three-hour shift on election day. Training dates are TBD and will be announced in the coming months. Volunteers don't need any special qualifications — LCR will provide everything volunteers need to feel comfortable in the field.
If you are interested in volunteering for the EP field program this year, please fill out this Google form before the end of June (and the sooner the better). Filling out the form is not a commitment to volunteer — it just provides LCR with personal information so they can contact those interested about next steps.