The problems we are hearing from all swing states, and the Supreme Court ruling today in Ohio reminded me why legal teams are so important.
Lawyers, PLEASE volunteer your professional skills on Election Day. The training is short and easy. Often it is little more than being "on call" for a few hours. You will be helping Obama-Biden and all our down-ticket races as well.
Yes, I know that Team Obama already has great attorneys, and
Most state parties also have good legal teams, but
But there are very important local roles any attorney can play on Election Day - even without prior political knowledge or experience. Your role is much needed, it is easy, and it really can be fun.
Since I'm a storyteller, I need to explain this with a short story...
UPDATE 1: Thanks to kissmygrits for the direct link to the Obama Voter Protection sign-up page.
UPDATE 2: Thanks to JeremiahFP for a link to the Democratic Lawyers Counsel fundraiser in Pennsylvania, one of the states which needs lots of legal help.
More of Update 2 below the story...
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This story goes back to 2004, to a time when my staunchly Republican suburban county had hardly seen any poll-watchers, much less Democratic ones.
We had a Congressional race spanning three counties. The CM and his chief attorney had this incredibly organized. Something my area had never seen before. One attorney "on-call" all day at each county court house so papers could be immediately filed if necessary. Nine zones with at least one mobile attorney with a cellphone in each zone. A separate Legal War Room at headquarters staffed by several of the most experienced election lawyers and their own private hotline phone lines.
Every poll watcher and every group of volunteers passing leaflets outside the zone at each polling location had been briefed, and had a shopping bag with things they might need. Included in the bag was a one-page summary of Illinois Election Law and our direct legal hotline number...
So in one small rural town which will remain nameless, Republican signs were right at the door of the building - illegal. Republicans wearing campaign clothing were wandering in and out. Our volunteers were well outside the "zone cone" set-up under county rules. Our poll watchers were told they couldn't enter the "cone zone."
The local mayor showed up, told our people they had to leave even though they were breaking no laws, and when they didn't leave, called his Chief of Police.
One of the volunteers reached into her bag, dialed the legal hotline, and while she was kept on that line, the rehearsed plan was put into play. Another attorney in the war room alerted three of the attorneys in cars who began racing each other to be first at the location.
I happened to be in the war room at the time. Our lead attorney calmly told our volunteer to pull out the copy of Illinois law and ask the Chief of Police if he would speak on the phone.
Illinois Election Law had language which may not be the case everywhere, but here, when a municipality signed the contract to be a polling place, Illinois law stated that only the State Police had jurisdiction at polling locations during voting hours, something which was evidently unknown by the small-town locals.
I don't recall the exact words, but our lead attorney said something like, "Chief, please read the two sentences in paragraph five. You are welcome to arrest my people, but I assure you, sir, if you do, you and your mayor will be in the cell next to them within ten minutes."
The chief huddled with and argued with his mayor, and then the two stomped off.
The best part was the ending. The war room called the three attorneys in cars and told them the crisis had been solved. On of the more feisty attorneys replied, "I'm still going anyway. I haven't been arrested in years."
Even if your background is corporate law, personal injury, or real estate closings, if you are a licensed attorney with a business card, you are of huge value to this race.
This story is just one of many. I ran into the attorney who tried to get arrested at a victory party that night, and worked with the lead attorney on another race recently. We all continue to laugh about this story.
It is amazing how locals, unfamiliar with any challenges to how they have done business in the past, will totally change their attitude when someone in a business suit steps out of a BMW and hands them a business card.
Call or visit the local Obama office or the campaign office of any local down-ticket race. If they don't need you locally, they can put you in touch with someone who does.
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UPDATE 2 (cont): I Early Voted :) My county used to send cones with a 150' string to polling locations. Evidently people must have played with moving the cones. At the early voting center they have now spray-painted a line to mark "the zone."
Best part of this was that there was one volunteer, a senior citizen with all her signs, sitting in a chair reading her book. She was supporting Dan Seals, one of our OTB candidates.
I went to thank her for her work. She told me that she and a group of friends were rotating and covering the entire early voting schedule.
So, while lawyers are badly needed on election day, you don't need to be a lawyer to help out right now.