Marc Elias: A Formidable Opponent for Trump
If Donald Trump manages to outdo Kamala Harris on November 5, he will likely face a more formidable adversary in court: Marc Elias, Harris's campaign lawyer. Elias has pledged to contest the election results in every closely contested state that Harris loses.
Elias, a veteran Democratic Party lawyer, has already filed over 60 pre-election lawsuits to prevent Trump from securing a second term. He is fighting against what he labels as Republican "voter suppression" efforts, such as requiring voters to present identification at the polls. Elias argues that these requirements are "racist" strategies designed to make it harder for minorities to vote.
Intimidation Tactics and Threats of Legal Action
Simultaneously, Elias has been writing to election officials in Georgia and other key swing states, threatening legal action if they uphold challenges to voter rolls to remove noncitizens and other ineligible registrants. Some Georgia officials have complained that his intimidation tactics are interfering with county registrars' ability to verify the qualifications of voters.
If Trump is declared the winner, Elias has threatened to overturn the election by deploying a team of over 75 lawyers to sue for ballot recounts in various swing states. In response, Trump has threatened to imprison Elias for election interference.
The Impact of Lawfare on U.S. Elections
Elias represents the increasing influence of lawfare on U.S. elections, as both parties increasingly turn to the courts to gain an advantage. According to a recently disclosed Republican National Committee memo, the Trump campaign has filed or joined 123 election lawsuits in 26 states, 82 of which are in battleground states, to combat alleged voter fraud. The campaign has also hired thousands of lawyers to ward off what a Trump lawyer expects will be "an onslaught of litigation" from the Harris campaign contesting the election results.
Elias: More Than a Courtroom Partisan
Elias's influence extends beyond the courtroom. As general counsel to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, he played a significant role in the creation and leak of dubious "opposition research" alleging illicit ties between Trump and Russia.
Despite the disinformation being fed to the FBI and media, which sparked criminal investigations and a media frenzy that plagued Trump's presidency for years, Elias's actions attracted scrutiny from other investigators and temporarily damaged his own reputation.
Elias's New Firm and Clients
In late 2021, Elias opened his own firm, the Elias Law Group, but soon lost major clients who reportedly grew tired of his aggressive tactics and independent style. However, Elias has since taken on other clients, including Kamala Harris, who have more than compensated for the loss in revenue.
Elias's Aggressive Approach
Elias's aggressive approach has sometimes backfired. In 2016, he sued Arizona to strike down two laws he argued made it harder for blacks and Hispanics to vote. However, in the case of Brnovich v. DNC, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Arizona, ruling that the state's ballot-integrity measures lacked discriminatory intent.
Anti-Trump War Room
Elias's anti-Trump legal war room includes a for-profit operation he founded in 2020 called Democracy Docket LLC. The digital platform tracks several hundred voting-related cases and publishes a weekly organ distributed to more than 225,000 paid subscribers, including lawyers, politicians, and journalists.
Bottom Line
While Elias publicly claims he's "defending free and fair elections," critics argue that his actions behind the scenes reveal purely partisan motives. As more than a dozen jurisdictions run by Democrats now allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections, the push to redefine who is eligible for the franchise promises to become an ever more potent and divisive issue in American politics. Much of this debate will almost certainly be hashed out in the courtroom battles and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering that are Marc Elias' special practice.
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