By Ben FC Wallace
President, Moritz Election Law and Democratic Debate Society, at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
It is a most exciting time to be at the Moritz College of Law and to be studying election law. Moritz offers students exceptional opportunities to study the suite of legal fields that govern political and democratic processes, and boundless possibilities to put their skills to work in the capital of the state that has long been recognized as one of the keystones of electoral politics in the United States.
Moritz students should take advantage of these opportunities. As future attorneys, Moritz students should prepare themselves to be stewards of civic trust. As leaders, we can help to deepen popular engagement in public life. As budding legal professionals, our expertise will help to grow and shape the public institutions of Ohio and of the nation.
One arena in which Moritz students can have the greatest impact is in election administration. Election officials (maybe you know them as poll workers) exist at the complex nexus of election law, administrative procedures, and customer (voter) service. Election officials are the gatekeepers of democracy in our nation. Despite this fact, Ohio struggles to hire talented and motivated individuals for these all-important roles. I would encourage all Moritz students to consider a day of public service this November or in the future by enlisting as a precinct election official.
As a perennial battleground state, Ohio offers many opportunities for law students to become engaged in election work both partisan and non-partisan. Incoming students will be privileged to experience the heat of the 2016 presidential race during their time at Moritz, when the eyes of the nation and the world are turned to the Buckeye State. But there are also statewide elections this fall and there is a great need for motivated and leadership-minded students to engage in the electoral process.
But Moritz students, as both current and future leaders, should also make their own opportunities. Moritz boasts a plethora of political and public policy-oriented student organizations in which students can make their mark. Additionally, students can start their own blogs focusing on personal policy interests, seek meetings with state or federal elected officials, organize voter registration drives on campus and in the community, develop state or local ballot initiatives, and run for office themselves. Current and former Moritz students have successfully pursued all of these avenues of political engagement. The sky is the limit.
Moritz graduates are the future leaders of Ohio. Whether they exercise that leadership in law firms, non-profits, as prosecutors or public defenders, in state agencies or in the Statehouse, Ohioans will look to former Moritz students for their professionalism, expertise, and wisdom as the state and the nation grapple with legal and policy questions. Even while they are still occupied with the hard work of studying the law, Moritz students should begin to embrace their role as leaders, and the elections arena is one good place to start.
Ben FC Wallace is president of the Moritz Election Law and Democratic Debate Society, a student organization at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.