Catholic Law students Shala Barney (3L), Tiffany Purvis (2L), Brigid Sawyer (3L), and Patricia Drennan (2L) have partnered together with Howard Law students Drew Lewis and McKayla Henderson to create Law Students Protect the Vote (LSPV).

The student-led initiative aims to bring law students together to ensure that every eligible voter can exercise their right to vote. Any interested law students may join by enrolling as a volunteer—with the Election Protection National Voter Hotline, as a poll worker, or as a poll monitor—wherever they are this semester. LSPV is a coordinated effort to increase communication with each other and spread the word about how law students can make a difference in voting.

Sawyer recently spoke about the collaboration sharing, “Law Students Protect the Vote is a nonpartisan collaboration between law students at CUA and Howard University. We help law students in the DMV area connect with opportunities to assist with the November 3, 2020 election. This collaboration has been a great opportunity to meet students from Howard University who are similarly passionate about ensuring everyone eligible can vote in the upcoming election. It is extremely rewarding to know that our legal education can be useful in assisting voters to exercise their rights.”

Barney, who is President of Catholic Law’s chapter of the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) added, "LSPV provides a great opportunity to get involved in our political process. I have taken pride in volunteering on the Election Protection Hotline because I was able to gain and then give practical voting information regarding registration and the location of polling places. I believe this volunteer work empowers more people while promoting truly fair and free elections!"

Purvis agreed, “Law Students Protect the Vote is an awesome way for law students to get involved with the upcoming election while simultaneously helping their local communities. As a younger person, I believe it is especially important, for those of us who can, to sign up as poll workers. I signed up to volunteer as a poll worker in D.C. because many of the poll workers who regularly volunteer are our older community members and will most likely not participate this year. As a member of the Pro Bono Advisory Board, I am beyond ecstatic to have the opportunity to volunteer this semester and get to better know my community during this election season.”

Follow LSPV on Instagram at LawStudentsProtectTheVote and Twitter @Law_Vote for additional information and virtual training opportunities.