Obama, McCain Amassing Thousands Of Lawyers To Monitor Polls

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Party Lawyers Ready to Keep an Eye on the Polls

By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: October 27, 2008


With heavy voter turnout expected, both parties are amassing thousands and thousands of lawyers to keep an eye on the polls on Election Day.

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign is expected to send at least 5,000 lawyers to Florida alone. The first recruitment e-mail message sent by the campaign received 6,000 responses from lawyers willing to volunteer; two other recruitment messages have been sent since. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain’s campaign has lined up “Lawyers for McCain” to spread out at polling places in battleground states as advocates for the ticket.

Like two armies girding for battle, both campaigns plan to use the lawyers to protect their supporters at the polls, help untangle ballot problems and run to court should litigation be necessary. Given the heated ballot challenges in the 2000 and 2004 elections, getting legal talent on the ground on Election Day is becoming as common a tool for the campaigns as advertising and polling.

“Both sides are assembling literally thousands of lawyers at the state level,” said Kenneth Gross, a veteran campaign finance lawyer at Skadden, Arps in Washington, who represents both parties. “We’re not talking about Lawrence Tribe or David,” he added, referring to two celebrated litigators, “but there will be no shortage of lawyers looking for any kind of imperfection in the process.”

“There’s been a tremendous mobilization effort,” Mr. Gross said.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/us/politics/28lawyers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin