The Voters’ Rights Project at the Rutgers School of Law-Camden has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Equal Justice Works Exemplary Public Service Award for a Student Group, a highly competitive national honor.

The student-run organization at the Camden law school will receive this award during an award ceremony in Washington, DC, on Oct. 29.

Equal Justice Works annually honors the outstanding public interest contributions of a law school faculty or staff member dedicated to public interest law and the exemplary public service work of a law student and a law student group or project.  The prestigious award has been presented to law students at such schools as the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, Columbia, and NYU.

Cherry Hill resident Chris Markos, a third-year student at the School of Law-Camden, was one of the leaders of the Voters’ Rights Project during 2008-09. “I was attracted to this project because of the number of people we have the potential to reach, and the size of the student effort,” he explains. “It's a unique project at the law school and a very fundamental one because there is great potential in what promoting free and fair elections and encouraging democratic participation can do for Camden.”

His fellow Rutgers law student, and co-leader of the Voters’ Rights Project, echoes those sentiments.  “I have an interest in politics, and the Voters' Rights Project seemed to cover my interest in politics with my study of the law,” says Noah Marlier, a Jenkintown, Pa., resident and a third-year Rutgers–Camden law student.  “Additionally, the project allowed me to get out and work in the Camden community. Through the project, I felt like I could empower residents in Camden through improvements in the city's voting process,” adds the 2002 graduate of James Madison University.

According to Markos, the Voters’ Rights Project placed Rutgers-Camden law students in the Camden community prior to Election Day to register voters and raise awareness of the 2008 elections.  On Election Day, approximately 100 volunteer observers monitored Camden polling places.  When a problematic situation arose, the on-site Rutgers law student volunteer would contact Markos and Marlier, who then contacted the Board of Elections to request that a deputy be dispatched to the site.

After Election Day, the Rutgers-Camden Voters’ Rights Project provided the Board of Elections with a report documenting election violations, voter demographics, voting data, and more, including recommendations on how to improve future elections.  “Included in this recommendation was that second- and third-year Rutgers law students could act as deputies (with the proper training) so that we can address violations on the spot and not well after the fact,” says Markos, a 2007 graduate of Rutgers-New Brunswick.

“This is a well-deserved honor for the many Rutgers–Camden law students involved in the 2008 Voters’ Rights Project,” says Rayman Solomon, dean of the School of Law–Camden.  “The dedication of our students and our alumni in providing critical pro bono services to the citizens of Camden and the Delaware Valley is a defining characteristic of the Rutgers-Camden law school.  I am confident that the passionate involvement of these individuals will serve our society well for years to come.”

The Voter’s Rights Project is one of many pro bono projects, all of which include training and supervision, and outside pro bono opportunities offered by the law school.  Others include Immigration, Domestic Violence, Children’s SSI, the Pro Bono Research Project, Mediation, VITA, Street Law, Financial Literacy and more.

Equal Justice Works provides leadership to ensure a sustainable pipeline of talented and trained lawyers involved in public service. The national organization delivers a continuum of programs that begin with incoming law school students and extend into later careers in the profession. Equal Justice Works provides the nation’s leading public interest law fellowship program and offer more postgraduate, full-time legal positions in public service than any other organization.