Pioneers in Public Interest: The Battle for Voting Rights in 2020

 

On Friday, September 18, 2020, Northeastern Law kicked off a new annual conference series celebrating its Public Interest Law Scholars Program.   Each year, we will focus on scholarship related to a pressing public interest issue.

This virtual half-day conference covered:

  • Voting purges
  • Threats to polling locations
  • Voter intimidation
  • Gerrymandering (and mathematical attention on issues of electoral redistricting)
  • Russian influence (fake news/misleading voters)
  • Machine malfunctions/snafus
  • Voter suppression (including obstacles to registration, cutbacks on early voting, stricter voter identification requirements).
  • Same day and online voter registration
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Supreme Court’s 2013 related ruling in Shelby Counter v. Holder

Dale HoKeynote Speaker:
Dale Ho
Director, Voting Rights Project, ACLU

Special Presentation
 Costas Panagopoulos
 Department Chair and Professor of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Humanities 

Panelists:
 Moon Duchin
 Associate Professor of Mathematics and Tisch College Senior Fellow, Tufts University

The Honorable Anita Earls
 Associate Justice, Supreme Court of North Carolina

Rahsaan Hall ’98
 Director, Racial Justice Program,
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Michael Li
 Senior Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law

Moderator: 
Alan Solomont
Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University 

Conference Chair:
 The Honorable Nonnie Burnes '77-'78
 Trustee Emerita, Northeastern University

PARTICIPATE IN THE CONVERSATION

To participate in Twitter conversations around the conference, please add the hashtag #VotingRightsBattle to your tweets.

Follow us on Twitter @NUSL.

Conference Schedule

Friday, September 18, 2020
12:50 - 1:00 p.m. 

Participants enter program. 
1:00 - 1:15 p.m. 

Welcome
 Dean James Hackney and the Honorable Nonnie Burnes ’77-78
1:15 - 1:25 p.m. 

Special Presentation
Costas Panagopoulos
 Department Chair and Professor of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Humanities 

Techno-voting: Using App Technology to Bolster Voting Convenience and Participation
1:25 - 2:05 p.m. 

Keynote Address
Dale Ho
 Voting Rights Project Director, ACLU    
2:15 - 3:15 p.m.

Panel
The Battle for Voting Rights 2020 

Panelists include: 

Moon Duchin
Tisch College Senior Fellow, Tufts University

Associate Justice Anita Earls
Supreme Court of North Carolina

Rahsaan Hall ’98
Director, Racial Justice Program
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Michael Li
 Senior Counsel, Democracy, Brennan Center

Moderator: 
Alan Solomont
 Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University.
3:15 - 3:45 p.m.

Virtual networking Reception

In partnership with Northeastern University's: 
 Center for Public Interest Advocacy and Collaboration 
NuLawLab
 Department of Political Science 

About the Public Interest Law Scholars Program

Northeastern is well known as one of the top public interest law schools in the nation. The renewable, full-tuition Public Interest Law Scholarship (PILS) is offered to exceptional applicants who possess impressive academic profiles as well as extensive experience in fields concerned with social justice and public service. 

Launched in 1999 by generous donors who believed that the mission of the law school naturally led to the need for such a scholarship, the first class of scholars graduated in 2003. These graduates have built a strong network, giving back to the program and assisting new students as they begin their pursuit of public interest law careers. Once scholars have graduated from the School of Law, it is hoped that a significant portion of their careers be dedicated to public interest law.