Come join the campaign to reclaim democracy for the people by fighting for free and fair elections, and against presidential corruption and abuse of power, in the summer of 2021! Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization, was founded in 2010 after the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision.  We’re working to renew our democracy and reclaim our Constitution for We the People, not big money and corporate interests, fight for free and fair elections, and to challenge corruption in government. We’re accepting applications for 2021 summer internships in our Legal Advocacy Program.

What do we do? Here are some the highlights of our recent major projects to fight for free and fair elections, and to hold President Trump accountable for his unprecedented corruption and abuse of power. Our summer 2021 work will, of course, differ from past work but will build on similar themes.

Fighting for free and fair elections. In 2020, we filed urgent litigation to protect the right to vote and free and fair elections. In Mi Familia Vota v. Hobbs (Arizona), we won a 10-day extension to the voter registration deadline that allowed 35,000 new voters to register in time for the 2020 election. In Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota v. Atlas Aegis LLC, we won an injunction against a private mercenary company that had threatened to send ex-special forces operatives to Minnesota’s polling places. We challenged voting practices that forced voters to choose between protecting their personal health during the COVID pandemic and exercising their right to vote, in cases like NAACP-Pa. State Conference v. Boockvar (Pennsylvania) and Mi Familia Vota v. Abbott (Texas). Finally, we continue to challenge unreliable and insecure electronic voting machines in NC NAACP v. NC State Board of Elections (North Carolina) and National Election Defense Coalition v. Boockvar (Pennsylvania). We’ll continue our fight for free and fair elections in 2021.

Fighting presidential corruption and abuse of power in the courts and elsewhere. We’ve challenged as illegal President Trump’s abuse of the pardon power, the Federal Election Commission’s dawdling in investigating a serious complaint of campaign finance violation by the Trump campaign, and the Trump Organization’s abuse of its state-granted corporate charter. We’ve already marked several victories through legal argument and public pressure that led to the end of an arrangement by which state public pension funds made unconstitutional payments to a Trump hotel; closed a double jeopardy loophole in New York, which allowed those pardoned by the President for self-dealing purposes to escape prosecution at the state level; and carried out a successful campaign calling for the impeachment of President Trump (twice) due to his ongoing abuses of power and repeated violations of the Constitution. We’ll continue to hold President Trump legally accountable even after he leaves office. And, we will remain vigilant in challenging corruption at all levels of our government.

Fighting big money in politics and corporate abuse of power. We’ve helped develop and pass cutting-edge campaign finance legislation in Seattle and St. Petersburg, Florida that will end super PACs in city elections and ban political spending by corporations partly owned by foreign investors, and we’ve helped defend public interest laws against corporate challenges. We’ll continue to work with local, state, and federal legislators on bold reforms to fight big money in politics and corporate abuse of power.

Who are you? We’re looking for rising 2Ls or 3Ls who are dedicated to public interest work, write well, and can work in a nonprofit environment. Con Law (especially First Amendment) is a plus but not essential. In rare cases, we will also consider undergraduates.

What will you do? You might be researching cutting-edge impact litigation, or working on an amicus brief, or drafting legislation, or creating educational resources. Or something totally different. But you definitely won’t be doing doc review.

Where’s the office? This internship is a remote-work opportunity. (Our attorneys are based in Massachusetts and New York, but we are all working remotely during the pandemic.)

When would the internship be? The internship is generally full-time for 10 weeks, but we would consider a split summer for an exceptional candidate.

How do you apply? Send cover letter, resume, transcript, writing sample, and three references (including at least one law school professor) to internship (at) freespeechforpeople (dot) org. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.

Free Speech For People is an affirmative action employer and recruits, employs, retains, and promotes persons in a manner that does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, veteran status, or physical or mental ability which is unrelated to job performance.