Allegra Chapman

Allegra Chapman is Common Causes Director of Voting and Elections.

In that capacity, she leads national and state efforts to reduce barriers to voting and ensure that elections are run efficiently and fairly throughout the country. An attorney, Allegra was staff counsel for Demos from 2008-11. There, she engaged in litigation and negotiations in several states to enforce Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act, which requires public assistance agencies to provide voter registration services to their clients. She also helped defend the constitutionality of New Yorks statute eliminating prison-based gerrymandering and worked on other electoral reforms including Election Day voter registration.

From 2011 until joining Common Cause, Allegra was an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau for the State of New York, where she brought actions for violations of federal, state, and local civil rights laws on employment discrimination, racial profiling in public accommodations, religious rights infringements, and police matters, among others. Her other previous positions include attorney for MFY Legal Services in New York, where she litigated in housing court and under the Americans with Disabilities Act; attorney for Lansner and Kubitschek, where she practiced family constitutional law; and law clerk for DC Superior Court Judge Michael Rankin.

Allegra earned her B.A. in Philosophy from McGill University and her J.D. from Emory University Law School. She is a member of the New York Bar.