Legacy Civil Rights and Advocacy Organizations Unite To Expand Election Protection Efforts, Recruit Legal Volunteers, And Safeguard Ballot Access For Black Voters And Other Communities of Color
NASHVILLE, TN (July 31, 2026) The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Bar Association, and the National Urban League today announced a landmark partnership to strengthen voter protection efforts and expand access to the ballot ahead of the November 2026 Midterm Elections.
The three organizations will coordinate volunteer recruitment, voter assistance, and legal monitoring efforts to help voters navigate barriers to participation and ensure eligible voters can cast their ballots free from discrimination, intimidation, and unnecessary obstacles.
The partnership, announced during the National Urban League Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, brings together three of the nation’s leading civil rights and advocacy organizations with a shared commitment to protecting democracy and advancing equal access to the ballot box.
“At a time when voters in many communities are facing ever-increasing challenges to accessing the ballot, effective collaboration is essential,” said Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Lawyers’ Committee is proud to join forces with the National Bar Association and the National Urban League to support the communities most impacted. Building on our work in the nationwide Election Protection coalition, we will work to ensure that the voters facing the biggest obstacles can exercise their fundamental right to participate in our democracy.”
As part of the agreement, members of the National Bar Association and the National Urban League will be recruited and trained to serve as volunteers for the Lawyers’ Committee’s 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which is the centerpiece of the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition—the nation’s largest and longest-running nonpartisan voter protection program. Volunteers will assist voters during the early voting period and on Election Day by answering questions, addressing voting-related concerns, and helping connect voters to reliable information and resources.
The organizations also will collaborate to deploy legal volunteers to work on the ground in their communities on Election Day, where they can identify and address voting access issues, respond rapidly to reports from the field, and help ensure polling locations remain safe and accessible to all voters.
“Charles Hamilton Houston challenged lawyers to be social engineers, using the law as a force for justice and progress,” NBA President James Carter said. That principle continues to guide the National Bar Association. We are proud to join the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the National Urban League in mobilizing legal professionals across the country to protect the fundamental right to vote and strengthen confidence in our democracy through service.”
“Protecting democracy requires more than encouraging people to vote. It requires ensuring that every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have that ballot counted,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “By combining the legal expertise of the Lawyers’ Committee, the advocacy leadership of the National Urban League, and the strength of the National Bar Association’s membership, this partnership will help safeguard access to the ballot and empower communities whose voices are too often at risk of being silenced.”
Through the new partnership, the organizations will work together to:
- Recruit and train volunteers to support the nonpartisan 866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection hotline.
- Deploy attorneys, law students, and other trained legal professionals on Election Day in select states.
- Coordinate voter protection strategies and rapid-response efforts to address election-related challenges in targeted jurisdictions.
- Strengthen civic engagement and voter confidence among Black voters and other historically marginalized communities.
Deployment to specific states and precincts will be determined in consultation with state and local partners throughout the summer and early fall. Together, the organizations reaffirm their shared commitment to a democracy in which every eligible voter has full access to the ballot and people in every community have the opportunity to have their votes counted and make their voices heard.
