The Leadership Conference Education Fund, together with Access Democracy; the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; the American Constitution Society; the Campaign Legal Center; and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law today announced All Voting is Local, a new campaign to protect the right and ability to vote, and fight voter suppression, at the local level.
“When voters encounter problems that impede their ability to cast a ballot, it is a civil rights issue,” said Hannah Fried, campaign director for All Voting is Local. “The right to vote is foundational to our democracy. But we need to ensure that barriers to voting are identified and fixed, particularly in historically disenfranchised communities, so that every citizen may exercise their right to have their voice heard.”
All Voting is Local works on the ground to improve how elections are run in five states: Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The campaign fights barriers that stand between voters and the ballot such as long lines, broken voting machines and obstacles to obtaining voter IDs in states that require them.
Through a range of advocacy tools, the campaign helps communities — and particularly communities of color — to identify and remedy barriers to the ballot box, and increase voter participation by expanding access to the ballot.
In partnership with civil and voting rights groups at the local and state levels, All Voting is Local aims to build power among historically disenfranchised groups, redefining the narrative around voter access, and educating activist networks about monitoring and improving elections.
The All Voting is Local staff includes Hannah Fried, campaign director; Aerion Abney, Pennsylvania state director; Sylvia Albert, national campaign manager; Kelly Brewington, communications director; Mike Brickner, Ohio state director; Megan A. Gall, national data director; Alex Gulotta, Arizona state director; Dan Horton, Florida state director; and Molly McGrath, Wisconsin state director.
Hannah Fried is the Campaign Director for All Voting is Local and the Executive Director of Access Democracy, a project of the Leadership Conference Education Fund. She most recently served as the National Director and Deputy General Counsel for Voter Protection on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. In 2012, Fried served as the Voter Protection Director for President Obama’s reelection effort in Florida, and from July 2009 to March 2012, was the Deputy Director and Deputy Counsel for Voter Protection at the Democratic National Committee. Fried spent several years in federal government service, at the Department of Justice and at the Environmental Protection Agency. She is a graduate of Williams College (class of 2004) and of Harvard Law School (class of 2008). She is admitted to practice law in New York.
Sylvia Albert is the National Campaign Manager for All Voting is Local. Prior to joining the campaign, she worked to protect vulnerable populations from housing and lending discrimination at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Albert holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Kelly Brewington is the Communications Director for All Voting is Local. Prior to joining the campaign, she was the communications director for the Office of Congressional Ethics, the nation’s first-ever ethics enforcer in the U.S. House of Representatives. She came to the communications field after a 13-year career as an award-winning journalist at the Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel with experience covering race and civil rights. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications.
Megan A. Gall is the National Data Director for All Voting is Local. As a geographer and a social scientist, Gall has used maps and data to question, explain, and explore social science topics. Her professional and research history includes voting rights and redistricting, demographics, criminal justice, historic narratives, homelessness, LGBTQ rights, and other civil rights based public policy and legal analyses. Gall holds a PhD in political science and master’s degree in Geographic Information Science (GIS).
Aerion Abney is the Pennsylvania State Director for All Voting is Local. Prior to joining All Voting is Local, Abney served as a Program Officer at a local foundation in Pittsburgh where he was responsible for identifying strategic grantmaking opportunities aligned with the Foundation’s mission and priority areas. Abney, a native of Philadelphia, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a master’s in social work and a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in theatre arts.
Mike Brickner is the Ohio State Director for All Voting is Local. Brickner previously served as the Senior Policy Director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. During his 14-year tenure at the ACLU, Brickner worked on a variety of critical civil liberties movements. Brickner earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hiram College and a master’s degree from Cleveland State University’s Diversity Management Program.
Alex Gulotta is the Arizona State Director for All Voting is Local. Gulotta brings with him more than thirty years of experience as a poverty law advocate and more than twenty years as a non-profit executive director. Gulotta practiced as a legal aid lawyer before becoming the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC). After, Gulotta joined Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) as Executive Director. Gulotta is a graduate of Marquette University and Marquette University School of Law.
Dan Horton is the Florida State Director for All Voting is Local. Dan earned an undergraduate degree at Kennesaw State University, and moved to South Florida in 2011. He attended and earned his law degree from the Florida International University College of Law in Miami, FL, where he served as President of the law school student body. As an attorney, former political candidate, and recent Legislative Assistant in the Florida State Senate, Horton brings a unique and impactful combination of skills and experience to the All Voting is Local team.
Molly McGrath is the Wisconsin State Director for All Voting is Local. McGrath is a voting rights attorney, organizer and advocate. She primarily works on the ground, and her work has taken her to Kansas, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin. Most recently, she worked with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. She is a Wisconsin native, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds her J.D. Brooklyn Law School where she received the highest award for community service hours. She is admitted to the New York bar.
For more information about the All Voting is Local staff and initiatives in each state, please visit: www.allvotingislocal.org.
