The New Jersey State Bar Association's program, "100 Years of the 19th Amendment and the Role Lawyers Play in Elections," can be viewed at https://player.vimeo.com/video/449459250
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” 19th Amendment
The road to passage of the 19th Amendment was long and difficult, as attendees learned at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (NJSBA) celebration of the amendment’s centennial last week. And New Jersey native Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the women’s suffrage movement, was among the scores of women who were taunted, beaten and imprisoned for leading protests in front of the White House.
Panelist Lucienne Beard, executive director of the Alice Paul Institute housed in Paul’s childhood home in Mount Laurel, discussed Paul’s life, which was guided by the Quaker principles of equality between men and women, social justice and nonviolence. Paul, who earned numerous degrees, including a doctorate in economics and a law degree, co-founded the National Woman’s Party. Following passage of the 19th Amendment, she immediately turned her attention to passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which she co-wrote.
Beard said the fight for passage of the 19th Amendment and the ERA focused on power, as both faced opposition from corporate interests, which feared financial losses.
The 19th Amendment program, which was presented by the NJSBA Women in the Profession Section and the Young Lawyers Division, included opening remarks by NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta. Susan Nardone, an NJSBA trustee and chair of the Women in the Profession Section, moderated a panel discussion on the role lawyers can play in elections.
The discussion noted how voting will be different this year, since Governor Phil Murphy’s recent executive order permitting modified mail-in voting in the presidential election. Lisa C. Chapland, NJSBA director of government affairs, who previously trained Democratic poll observers, said mail-in voting is a “reliable voting mechanism. Is it going to be much more labor intensive this year? Sure. Are the roles attorneys are going to play this year going to be immensely different than any other previous year? Absolutely.”
The Ballot Cure Act, which is under consideration in the Legislature, would provide attorneys opportunities to get involved in the electoral process, she said. The law would enable voters to track their ballot and rectify any issues that would invalidate it.
William J. Palatucci, special counsel at Gibbons, who has been involved in election law matters, said attorneys play important roles “before, during and after elections.”
For attorneys working on post-election matters, it’s crucial they be aware of past decisions in the particular county where they are working. Residency issues tend to be the most common challenges, but even those are rare, he said.
It will be a unique presidential election, he noted.
“There will be a lot of ballots. I predict we’ll be sitting here at Christmas still counting, figuring out what happened in New Jersey,” Palatucci said.
“I think we still have a lot to learn if we have the resources and the knowledge and the wherewithal to do this without too many hiccups,” he added.
Emily Kelchen, an NJSBA trustee and chair of the Young Lawyers Division, said lawyers could be instrumental in helping to fill a “dramatic shortage of poll workers” this year because of the pandemic.
When she worked at polls in Flemington, Kelchen was surprised to draw on her legal skills, including the ability to follow precise rules, resolve conflict and de-escalate tension.
“I think those are all skills that lawyers have that translate really well into the poll worker experience, and are ones that are desperately needed,” Kelchen said.
The New Jersey Division of Elections provides applications and training. “It’s worth it. You learn so much about the electoral process,” Kelchen said.
Trained poll workers help give voting legitimacy and ease the process, she said. “You need to be able to show up at your polling place and know and have confidence in the people working there. And know that your vote is going to count. The poll worker’s job is to be welcoming and help people cast their ballot.”