Voting is fundamental!

Whether voting is a right or a privilege is subject to debate. What is not open to debate is that voting is fundamental to democracy.

Some of our most important legal documents in the United States are about voting. According to USA.gov, “U.S. election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution. This gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections. Many Constitutional amendments and federal laws to protect voting rights have been passed since then.” Another important legal document, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, states, “no voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.” This year we are also celebrating the centennial of women's’ suffrage. The 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

This year voting may be a bit different because of COVID. Many states have developed protocols for voting to allow people access to voting in different and safer ways this year. For example, a recent SCOTUS case involved new procedures in Rhode Island.

Here at RWU Law we have been working on a non-partisan effort to make information more available for students. We will be featuring information about registering and voting on social media and on the big screens in the law school. We have also created a guide in collaboration with several SBA student group leaders. It provides information about voting in Rhode Island and beyond our state. Our intention is to provide non-partisan information to encourage our community to be active in the democratic process by voting. This guide also provides information on how to volunteer to be a poll worker.

Voting is essential for democracy and it is fundamental for members of any political party. We invite you to not only make yourself aware of voting laws, but also to participate in our political process by voting.