New England Lawyers Mobilize to Ensure Fair Vote

With 20 minutes left before the voting closed in the 2012 New Hampshire primary, the fire alarms at the Hanover polling site went off, forcing the crowd still waiting to cast their ballots to exit the building.

Manchester, New Hampshire, lawyer Andru Volinsky obtained an extension in the polling hours to make up for lost time from a judge who was on call for just such an emergency. Volinksy, one of dozens of lawyers on hand on primary day that year, and the judge were part of an effort to make sure the voting went smoothly, the attorney said.

Volinksy, who serves as Sen. Bernie Sanders' state legal counsel, said he thinks fire alarms will stay quiet throughout the Granite State this year.

"There's a kind of chippiness that happens around primary day, and there may be individuals who try to take things into their own hands," he said. "That's exactly what we're looking for."

This primary day, dozens of attorneys and law students from across New England, including at least five from Vermont, again will observe the polls.

Their goal: to ensure that everyone who is qualified to vote gets to vote. Lawyers recruited as observers are non-partisan. An estimate of the number of lawyers and law students was not immediately available.

The Clinton camp has recruited attorneys and students for the same purpose, said Paul Twomey. He serves as Clinton's state legal counsel, and was President Obama's New Hampshire state legal counsel in 2008 and 2012.

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