b'EXERCISING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO VOTEGrowing up in the 60s in rural North Carolina,state-specific voter registration requirements and where the Ku Klux Klan openly held meetings atother election information.the local gas station on Saturday nights and theWith the generous doctors office had separate white and coloredIn a series of internal emails, Mintz community membersalsosharedmemoriesoftheirearlycontribution we only waiting rooms, Randy Jones witnessed thevotingexperiencesandthoughtsonwhytheyreceived from power of voting at an early age. As a Black childvote. The personal reflections in these Inspired watching the nightly news reports on television,to Vote emails helped build a sense of communityMintz, we wereI saw Black people being physically beaten andat the firm during a divisive and difficult time able to executeassaulted as they attempted to vote or register tobringingMintzcontributorsandreadersacross vote, said Randy, a litigator in Mintzs San Diegogeographic locations, practice areas, and politicala very robustoffice. Their courageous insistence on exercisingparties together in spirit as we expressed a sharedelection protection their right to vote left a strong impression. Fromcommitmenttoensuringastrongdemocracy. the very first moment that I was able to vote as ancampaign to18-year-old teenager, I did so and promised myselfSome of the most avid voters sharing reflections were community members who immigrated to themake sure allI would cast my ballot in every future state, local,UnitedStatesfromcountrieswheredemocraticvoters had accessor federal election, he said. institutionswereweakorentirelylacking.The Mintz Managing Member Bob Bodian shares anfamily of Grace Rosales, a staff member in LA,to the ballot box.equallyunshakablecommitmenttovoting.Onleft the Philippines in the 1970s to escape martialIVN ESPINOZA-MADRIGALJuneteenth 2020, moved by the murder of Georgelaw. As naturalized US citizens we had to earn ourExecutive DirectorFloyd and the deaths of many other Black men andright to vote, Grace said. To exercise this civicLawyers for Civil Rightswomen across the nation, he recommitted the firmright is a beautiful thing. to advancing social justice and introduced initiativesMorethan80Mintzattorneysandstaff includingMintzVotes,whichencouragesMintzvolunteeredthroughfirm-approvednonpartisan employees to vote and engage in volunteer work toopportunities,andmanyothersvolunteered help ensure safe, accessible, and fair elections. independently on partisan efforts. Mintz clients It is of utmost importance that we vote, and helpalsoparticipatedinMintz-organizedvolunteer others do so, Bob said, inviting the communityactivities. Several in-house counsel joined Mintz andotherlawfirmsacrossthecountrytojoinattorneystosupportLawyersforCivilRights ingettingoutthevoteanddrivingchange.MassachusettsElectionProtectionProject,an Sometimes progress is slower than it could orinitiative undertaken with the help of a $100,000 should be. But together, by exercising our votingdonationfromMintz.Volunteersstaffedthe right and privilege, we can move forward, he said. organizationsvoterhelpline,monitoredmedia TohelpMintz Votessucceed,Mintzgaveeveryplatforms,andobservedpollinglocationsfor employee the day off on Election Day 2020 aoutdoorviolations.Mintzsdrivetoprotectand practice that will be repeated on every presidentialget out the vote served as a reminder that in a ElectionDayandcoordinatedopportunitiesdemocracy, it is within our power to effectuate tovolunteerfornonpartisan,election-relatedthe change we want to see. Through Mintz Votes, probonoactivities. Tofurtherencouragevoterwevebeenabletoengageandbepartofthe turnoutamongourattorneysandstaff,Mintzsolution, Bob said.sharedinternalcommunications,including TRANSCENDING // Mintz Pro Bono Journal 5'