I just got an email from Obama's General Counsel recruiting attorneys and others with legal experience to make sure the vote in November is fair and to fight voter suppression tactics.
It leads in with a good explanation for why this legal strike team is needed:
Real change only happens when new people enter the political process and make their voices heard.
That's why this campaign is launching an unprecedented Voter Protection Program that will fight to promote and defend the voting rights of every American.
Attorneys, law students, and those with legal expertise will be essential in making sure every eligible citizen who wants to vote can vote -- and that their vote is counted.
After going through the long and painful litany of how fraud and intimidation has succeeded in past years, the email has this encouraging statement:
That's why the Obama Voter Protection Program has already launched, earlier than ever before, and will be the most comprehensive voter protection program in our nation's history, with counsel in 50 states and a vote protection team on the ground now.
This email excites me for two reasons, after the jump.
First, it shows how committed the Obama team is to fully staffing and ramping up a robust legal team which (sadly) has become necessary to make sure it's a fair fight. I was so disappointed that Kerry didn't appear ready to wage legal battles in Ohio, and then quit to early and too easily. Obama's team is not going to make this mistake. They appear to be committed to building a team that is ready to prevent fraud before it happens, address election-day problems as they arise, and as well as aggressively battle GOP dirty tricks post-election if necessary.
Second, it highlights again how internet-saavy the Obama team is, since they clearly directed this particular email to attorneys and other legal professionals.
UPDATED:
Here's the link from the email for those who haven't received the email but are interested in signing up:
http://my.barackobama.com/...