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Justice Ginsburg, nicknamed “the notorious RBG,” was the ultimate inspiration to me and many others. Justice Ginsburg stood for equality and justice for all. She was a Supreme Court justice for 27 years and trusted by all Americans to stand up for their rights. She started her law education at Harvard Law School, where she was one of only nine women in a class of more than 500. After transferring to Columbia Law School because of her husband’s cancer diagnosis, and with a young child in tow, she graduated first in her class in 1959. She couldn’t get a job as a lawyer in a law firm so she went to work as a professor at Rutgers University and then Columbia. It was there that she had the opportunity to argue cases before the United States Supreme Court to advance gender equality. During the entire time she was a Supreme Court justice, her “liberal” views for gender equality were in the minority. She wrote many dissents that impacted society and led to a change in the law. Her dissent in a 2007 case involving a woman named Lilly Ledbetter, who was not paid the same as her male co-workers and filed a pay discrimination lawsuit, led Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, which expanded the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits. Justice Ginsburg was a pioneer and role model for all women to break through the glass ceiling and status quo. Let us endeavor to keep her work alive and carry her strength forward to inspire generations to come. With the presidential election now less than one month away, this is the time to honor Justice Ginsburg and exercise our hard-fought right to vote in the November election. Our country was founded on the democratic principle that the people (although it was only white male landowners at that time) determine who their representatives should be. It was a right that people fought and died for then, and many have fought for it since. Black men and women had to fight slavery and Jim Crow laws for the right to vote. White women had to fight for the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. And many continue to fight for voter rights today. We do our country and ourselves a disservice by not participating in something so meaningful as voting. I’m proud to come from a line of women who understand the importance of our democracy. My mother, Elaine Rudin, is a former president of a chapter of the League of Women Voters, which recently commemorated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the
women’s suffrage movement. You can find out more by visiting NationalWomensHistoryAlliance.org.
Why vote? Well, no one wants to live under a dictatorship, having others make decisions without their input. How do you know who and what to vote for? Start by thinking about what’s most important to you and vote for a representative or position that best reflects your values and priorities. The decisions that result from voting control every aspect of our society. Your elected representatives give you a voice as to how your tax dollars are allocated: How much of your tax dollars will go to education and how much to the military and infrastructure? How important is climate change and the environment as a whole? Do you value preservation of national parks? What will the nation’s approach be to capital punishment and incarceration verses rehabilitation in the criminal justice system? Our health care system is also in a state of flux, which will likely be affected by who is elected. Personally, I want to be a role model for my children, to teach them the importance of voting and participating in our government. I want to show them that supporting the causes they believe in is the right thing to do, and that participating in rallies and marches empowers them. I want to show them, as Justice Ginsburg showed me, that standing up for their beliefs is how they can effect change. Now is the time to make sure you are registered to vote. You can register as late as Oct. 19, 15 days before the Nov. 3 election. With COVID-19 still a continuing threat to our health, California is making it easier to vote by sending all registered voters mail-in ballots. You can drop your completed ballot off early at a local dropbox, election office, or polling location. To be sure your vote is counted, you should track what happens to your ballot by visiting California.BallotTrax.net/ voter. If you decide to vote on Election Day in person, remember to adhere to health and safety procedures. But no matter what, do not let these turbulent times keep you from casting your ballot. It is your right, and you should exercise it. – Renée Nordstrand
2 • NORDSTRANDLAW.COM
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