On Nov. 3, 2009, Election Protection, led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and other coalition partners, once again provided nonpartisan support for Virginia voters as they headed to the polls. Election Protection would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who volunteered with us on Election Day.
Some of Election Protection's student volunteers, including Melinda Hightower, one of Election Protection's student leaders in Virginia, were even cited in Virginia Law Weekly for their contributions. According to the article:
The Black Law Student Association (BLSA) joined the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as a coalition partner in the National Campaign for Fair Elections in "Election Protection." According to second-year Melinda Hightower, a co-leader of the Charlottesville Command Center for Mobile Legal Volunteers, the goal of this effort was "ensuring that every eligible citizen has the opportunity to cast a meaningful ballot."
Some, such as Hightower, took on a more organizational role, "sourcing volunteers, conducting volunteer training, coordinating and managing volunteer shifts, logging issues as they arose on Election Day, and connecting with other Command Centers throughout the day," while others such as second-year Amelia Dungan were out in the field, going "to polling places around Charlottesville to make sure that voting was running smoothly and that voters weren't being improperly turned away." This is BLSA's second year participating in Election Protection, and, according to Hightower, BLSA "absolutely" plans to participate again next year.
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