When: Saturday, May 30 and Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Where: Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, and Stanislaus counties*
Since the 1990s, ALC has run a nonpartisan poll monitoring program in California’s elections. The goal of our program is to help ensure that our elections are administered smoothly and that all eligible voters can cast their ballots freely and fairly. Our program is run in partnership with California Common Cause and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
We are seeking volunteers to observe polls during the June 2026 primary elections. Volunteers will travel to five polling sites during a four-hour shift. During your visits, you will check for language and disability access (e.g., translated materials, disability compliance, etc.), may assist voters who are encountering problems, and ensure voter harassment and disenfranchisement do not occur. You will be trained and equipped with the tools to resolve a wide variety of issues. You will also have access to a legal support hotline that will help address problems you may encounter.
Volunteer Requirements:
- Availability on Saturday, May 30 and/or Tuesday, June 2
- At least 18 years old
- No prior experience necessary; legal experience or background is welcome but not required
- You do not need to be a U.S. citizen or a registered voter
- No language skills beyond basic English are required, but we are especially seeking bilingual volunteers to verify the presence of translated election materials and potentially assist voters.
- Access to a car is strongly preferred. Unfortunately, given the lack of reliable transportation alternatives in certain areas, we cannot guarantee that volunteers without access to a car will be able to participate in the program. However, we will try our best to assign voting sites that are accessible by public transit or pair volunteers with partners who have access to a car.
Trainings:
Volunteers must also attend one of our 90-minute online training sessions prior to participating. Attorneys barred in California will receive 1.5 MCLE credit hours for attending the online training. You can register for one of the four training sessions in our sign-up form (linked below).
- Training #1: Thursday, May 14 (6:00-7:30 pm)
- Training #2: Saturday, May 16 (10:00-11:30 am)
- Training #3: Tuesday, May 19 (6:00-7:30 pm)
- Training #4: Wednesday, May 20 (6:00-7:30 pm)
Pro Bono Credit and Volunteer Gift Cards:
To help offset transportation costs and as a small token of appreciation, ALC offers volunteers a $100 digital gift card after completing the program.
Attorneys and law students who are participating in the program to earn Pro Bono credit are not eligible to receive a gift card. However, we can provide you with a certificate of completion to help you fulfill any Pro Bono reporting requirements.
How to Get Involved:
Please complete this sign-up form by Friday, May 8.
Questions?
Please email pollmonitor@asianlawcaucus.org with any questions.
* If you wish to volunteer in Southern California (specifically in Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego counties), please sign up with our partners at California Common Cause.