Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024 - 27

FEATURE
Gibbons is one of thousands of government officers and election volunteers
who have been harassed, abused, or threatened while carrying out
their duties. An April 2023 survey of local election officials by the Brennan
Center for Justice found that nearly one in three had experienced
threats, harassment, or abuse because of their role. The Brennan Center
also estimates that nearly 1.5 U.S. election officials will have left their position
every day between November 2020 and November 2024.
Now Gibbons and others have a way to fight back, thanks to a network
of 6,000 pro bono attorneys providing legal guidance to state and local
election workers who face threats, dismissal, and lawsuits, regardless of
their political affiliation.
Established in fall 2021 by election law powerhouses Ben Ginsberg and
Bob Bauer, the Election Official Legal Defense Network (EOLDN) seeks to
restore trust in the American election system and promote election procedures.
A project of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Center for Election
Innovation & Research (CEIR), this network of volunteer attorneys serves
as the first line of legal defense for those overseeing voting in local jurisdictions.
" We
are clearly in a new and different era [regarding] the administration
of elections, " says Ginsberg, EOLDN cochair and former counsel to the
campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney. " There have been flareups
in the past over election administration whenever there are tight
elections. What's different here is the people ... challenging the basic
credibility of the institution of elections, and that has resulted in a very
different set of issues surrounding elections and the ramifications for
people who work elections. "
This is not the first time that Ginsberg and Bauer, professor of practice
and distinguished scholar in residence at the New York University School
of Law who served as counsel to President Obama, have teamed up to
work on election and voting issues. From 2013 to 2014, both served as
cochairs of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration,
tasked to " identify best practices in election administration and to make
recommendations to improve the voting experience. "
BARRAGE OF ATTACKS
EOLDN is the only service available to election officials that operates in
real time, for free, and with the depth of knowledge needed to handle
cases ranging from employment law to First Amendment litigation to
administrative regulations. Sometimes the service is a reassuring call;
other times it requires attorneys to file a lawsuit.
" When the attacks on election officials started, we felt they deserved
support in ways a number of them were obviously not getting, " says
Ginsberg. " We wanted to form an organization that had the backs of
election officials, so that's when we went to David at CEIR, and he kindly
agreed to host the network. "
David Becker, CEIR executive director, says attacks such as stalking, bomb
threats, and other bullying behaviors continue to occur in numerous jurisdictions
across the country. " These people aren't looking for a big payday
or headlines. They just want to be able to drive home from work
without being worried about someone following them or harassing their
families, " Becker says.
What is unique about EOLDN is that it's available to all current and former
volunteer poll workers, although they must be or have been acting
under the supervision of a recognized governmental election authority
to qualify. Becker says the notion was that everyone in the election-administration
chain, including volunteers, should have access to an attorney
when facing harassment.
" There are no guarantees that you're going to get an injunction or you're
going to get a big money award, " says Becker. " If you need some legal
advice and you need a lawyer who you know represents you and only
you, we will advise you on remedies available and your rights. "
EOLDN's goal is to have a substantial roster of attorneys to ensure wider
geographic representation as well as a greater ability to address the various
legal issues that come up. The network wants to make sure it can
match callers with attorneys who live and work in the same jurisdictions
or nearby, and thus ensure the attorney is familiar with state law and local
regulations.
" There are lawyers who are willing to give up their valuable time to help
these election officials on a completely pro bono basis because they
care about democracy, " Becker says.
POST-ELECTION TROUBLES
Among the thousands of lawyers who
responded to EOLDN's call to action
was Stephen B. Pershing, of counsel
with Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch,
P.C., who has a deep background in
election and employment law. That expertise
proved crucial after Gibbons,
the Lynchburg, Virginia, registrar,
learned in January 2021 that she was
under investigation.
An official in the local Republican Party
had lodged a complaint about the
processing of absentee ballots and
claimed Gibbons gave extra votes to
Joe Biden. According to the Washington
Post, a state police spokesperson said that " the results of the investigation
were turned over to a special prosecutor, who declined to seek
charges. "
BEN GINSBERG
Election Official Legal Defense
Network
Gibbons faced additional stress in 2023 when she was at risk of losing
her position. Her term as registrar, which began in 2018, was expiring at
the end of June, and instead of the usual practice of reappointing the
current registrar with little fanfare or fuss, the new Republican-controlled
Lynchburg Election Board ordered her to reapply for her job. Gibbons
had fallen out of favor with the two Republican members of the threeperson
board and was worried. She wasn't sure what her rights were or
whether she had any recourse if she was denied another term. As her
family's main breadwinner, she was looking for more than advice - she
needed legal help to decide whether to fight to keep her job.
" Friends told me that maybe I should just walk away, but I didn't feel
right about walking away because I know I did everything possible and
within the law to ensure the integrity of our elections, " says Gibbons.
" Once a year, I would read the law. I would attend every possible training
I was able to attend. I would reread all the chapters in the handbook, and
I would create trainings for my office so that we could put on the best
elections possible. "
JULY/AUGUST 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 27
Courtesy of EOLDN
Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024

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