National Lawyers Council

Mission Statement

The Democratic National Committee's National Lawyers Council (NLC) is a nationwide coalition of Democratic volunteer lawyers and law students committed to promoting and protecting a strong democracy through advancing an accessible, open and fair election process. It is our mission to ensure that every eligible citizen is allowed to vote and know that his or her vote is counted. The NLC works closely with the Party at the national, state and local levels to promote voting rights and to identify and combat problems that undermine those rights. While the NLC coordinates with the Party on other issues, its foremost objective is to organize early in every state and territory to carry out the Democratic Party's commitment to this goal.

The Work

For the 2008 cycle, the national leadership is working to recognize ways to facilitate the voting process, identify potentially problematic methods of election administration, develop best practices for voter protection, and create voter education materials. In-state leadership have been forming relationships with local election officials, working to prevent potential problems, and recruiting county-lead lawyers to manage poll watching operations during the early vote period and on Election Day.  State leadership also works with the state party to conduct legal research, produce training materials, and determine if litigation is necessary. As part of NLC's ongoing analysis of election laws and administration, working groups are studying specific issues that can arise directly before, on or after Election Day. Additionally, to ensure that the votes of historically disenfranchised populations are protected, the national leadership has formed Voter Protection Task Forces to study demographic-specific election administration issues and create tailored voter education materials.

Latest NLC News

John McCain and Republican Party Must End Hypocrisy on Voter Registration Fraud and Sever Ties with Tainted GOP Operatives Immediately

October 21, 2008 - On a conference call today, the National and California State Democratic Parties called on the Republican Party to end their hypocrisy on voter registration fraud and sever all ties with long-time GOP Operative Mark Jacoby. Jacoby is the owner of Young Political Majors (YPM) who was arrested in California last weekend on two counts of voter registration fraud and two counts of perjury. Jacoby faced allegations of voter fraud in 2004 when he worked for Arno Political Consultants. YPM is currently under contract with the California State Republican Party to register voters. John McCain's California Co-Chair is also a leading supporter of the CA Republican State Party's voter registration efforts. Just yesterday, campaign finance reports revealed that the MCCain-Palin campaign and the RNC have paid Nathan Sproul, a Republican operative who has faced numerous charges of unethical and potentially illegal activity surrounding voter registration.
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GOP Operative Allegedly Tricked Voters into Registering as Republicans

October 21, 2008 - A Republican operative was arrested yesterday on charges of voter registration fraud, reports the Los Angeles Times, and stands accused of duping voters into registering as Republicans.
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McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused of Voter Registration Fraud

October 20, 2008 - John McCain's hyperbolic claims about ''the fabric of democracy'' ring incredibly hollow when, at the same time, he pays dirty tricksters like Nathan Sproul $175,000 to ''register voters.''
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GOP Dirty Tricks in Florida

September 18, 2008 - A new presidential election cycle, same old, Republican dirty tricks. An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times calls the mailings 'some of the sleaziest campaign tactics.'
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Democrats Fighting Republican Hypocrisy on Voting Rights

September 29, 2006 - While Bush Republicans in Washington claim to support voting rights, House Republicans this week passed a voter identification bill that threatens to disenfranchise countless minority, student, elderly, people with disabilities and low income voters. The bill is effectively a poll tax that will keep thousands of lawfully registered voters from participating in our democracy.
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National Lawyers Council Related Links

September 11, 2006 - Democracy at Risk: The 2004 Election in Ohio http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/06/democracy_at_ri.php DNC Voting Rights Institute http://www.democrats.org/vri DC Democratic Lawyers Council http://www.dcdlc.org New York Democratic Lawyers Council http://www.nydlc.org Texas Democratic Lawyers Council http://www.txdlc.org National Democratic Law Student Council http://www.lawschooldems.org...
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DNC Marks the 41st Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

August 7, 2006 - DNC Marks the 41st Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act Washington, DC—Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the 41st anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act:
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DNC Announces Expanded National Voter Protection Effort

August 3, 2006 - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today announced the DNC's expanded national voter protection efforts. In addition to the establishment of a national voter protection hotline and the placement of election protection staff in 15 key states, the DNC is implementing a comprehensive series of efforts aimed at helping Americans register to vote, learn how and where to cast their ballot, and provide assistance in overcoming Republican-led efforts to suppress voter turnout for the November elections.
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In the Building: Election Protection Summit

June 20, 2006 - Today the DNC's Voting Rights Institute and National Lawyers Council are holding an Election Protection Summit. This day-long event has brought together voting rights activists, litigators, scholars, Democratic Party leaders and election administrators to dicuss comprehensive stategies to advance fair...
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Governor Dean on Voting Rights

May 17, 2006 - Governor Dean spoke to the NY Chapter of the National Democratic Lawyers Council last evening about the DNC's efforts to fight to protect the voting rights of all Americans: Voting ensures every American an opportunity to participate in our democracy....
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Democratic Law Students Get Their Act Together

March 22, 2006 - This past weekend, from March 17-19, 2006, Democratic law students from across the country convened at Harvard Law School to kickoff a new association of Democratic law students, the National Democratic Law Students Council (NDLSC). Headlined by the DNC Chairman, Gov. Howard Dean, the convention brought together 140 students from 33 schools with a common purpose: to forge a new organization devoted to promoting the work that law school Democrats and Democratic groups do on campus while connecting them with the voter protection and other efforts of Democratic lawyers.
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