NCBP S2, Ep 7, Oct. 5, 2026 - What Bars Can Do to Uphold Free and Fair Elections

Americans have the right to vote, and protecting the integrity of our elections has become an increasingly pressing concern in communities across the country. Amanda Arriaga welcomes Juan Thomas, Robin Wolpert, and Keith Ellison to discuss the role of legal professionals in upholding the rule of law and doing their part to preserve free and fair elections. Setting partisan politics aside, they explore the importance of understanding and applying the rule of law to protect voting rights. They also share practical strategies for engaging with local communities through education and support to help strengthen election processes. Juan Thomas is NCBP President. Robin Wolpert is a Past President of both NCBP and the Minnesota State Bar. Keith Ellison serves as Attorney General of the state of Minnesota. At the 2026 NCBP Annual Meeting, bar leaders and judges simulated an escalating rule-of-law crisis involving judicial budget cuts, political attacks, and threats against a judge. NCBP partnered with the Divided Community Project, the ABA Center for Bar Leadership, the ABA Center for Human and Right and the German Marshall Fund, with funding from The Carter Center Rule of Law Program, to conduct this exercise which prepared bars to cultivate trusted relationships, define roles, and build broad community coalitions in advance of crises. Read more about lessons learned: https://cdn.ymaws.com/ncbp.org/resour... Since then, NCBP has curated election resources for bar leaders: https://ncbp.org/page/ElectionResources. To learn more about NCBP or to become a member, visit https://ncbp.org/.