Hannah Klain

Hosted by Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Sponsored by The Selbin Family
Service location New York, New York
Law school Harvard Law School
Issue area Voting Rights/Electoral Participation
Fellowship class year 2019
Program Design Your Own Fellowship

The Project

Hannah will stop discriminatory polling place closures and denials of electoral resources to minority communities in states formerly covered by §5 of the Voting Rights Act, through model litigation and advocacy.

States formerly monitored under the Voting Rights Act are using their now-unchecked discretion to shut down polling places and restrict electoral resources in minority neighborhoods, engaging in widespread voting access discrimination. In Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, inequality in the distribution of polling places, poll workers, and voting machines is causing egregious disenfranchisement, particularly among people of color. The central goal of Hannah’s project is to eliminate discriminatory denials of voting access in minority communities in targeted states.

Fellowship Plans

Achieving equal voting access is critical to empowering people of color. Without adequate polling locations, voting machines, and poll workers, those who are already underrepresented will be further marginalized in our political process. Hannah’s project aims to close the racial gap in voting access in FL, GA, and SC, through litigation, advocacy, and community organizing.