Overview

Voters of color are significantly more likely than white voters to wait in line to vote on election day.  According to the Brennan Center, Latino voters waited on average 46 percent longer than white voters, and Black voters waited on average 45 percent longer than white voters.  This is one of many barriers that make election day voting more difficult for voters of color.

One solution to this problem that voting rights advocates have recommended for decades is making election day into a federal holiday with little success. While advocates have not yet succeeded at making election day into a federal holiday, at least 10 states have succeeded in making election day into a state holiday.

This project aims to create model legislation for making election day into a state holiday, by researching where in each state’s code holidays are located, so that advocates or legislators can easily draft legislation to make election day a holiday in their state.

Project Details:

• Seeking teams of attorneys from law firms and/or corporate legal departments

• Research where in each state’s code holidays are located

• Data will be used to create model legislation

• No prior experience required

• Training and mentorship provided

• 52 - 104 hours of work in total (can be broken up between multiple pro bono partners)

• Deadline is November 1, 2021

To express interest in this project, please fill out the form on this page and select “Lawyers for Racial Justice: Election Day State Holidays” in the Projects field. In the “Questions / Comments” field, please provide an estimate of how many total hours your attorneys will be able to contribute.