Connecticut members of the largest lawyer’s association in the country have been urged to volunteer for election work this year.
The association is anticipating widespread litigation after November's presidential election.
The American Bar Association has a Task Force for American Democracy focused on six battleground states. Mary Smith, the immediate past president of the American Bar Association, told members at the Connecticut Bar Association on Wednesday she would like lawyers from other states like Connecticut to volunteer.
“The ABA actually has a way for lawyers to be poll workers. And then with the task force for democracy, we have set up next step committees in six states, and you can help with those efforts,” Smith told the lawyers at the CBA’s 2024 Rule of Law Conference in Hartford.
Smith said there is an urgency for lawyers to help uphold the integrity of elections because a recent ABA survey found that 38% of Americans support authoritarianism.
“Nearly a quarter of Americans are prepared to resort to violence if their desired candidate does not win,” Smith said.
“And an eye-opening 74% of U.S. residents say America's system of democracy is weaker than it was 5 years ago. And the main cause for the downward spiral is the spread of misinformation and disinformation,” she said.
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