Marc E. Elias

Marc Elias is the chair of Perkins Coie’s Political Law Group, where he is a preeminent counselor in the areas of federal and state campaign finance law, ethics, lobbying and gift rules, as well as recounts and election contests. He is also a nationally recognized authority and spearheads litigation efforts in the areas of voting rights and redistricting. Marc’s clients include dozens of U.S. senators, governors, representatives and their campaigns. Marc served as general counsel to Hillary for America, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. He served in the same role for John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004. In 2016, he successfully argued three cases challenging unlawful Republican gerrymandering in the U.S. Supreme Court: Wittman v. Personhuballah, Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Bd. of Elections, Cooper v. Harris. Also in 2016, Marc successfully represented Governor Roy Cooper in the North Carolina post-election and recount process. He served in the same role for Attorney General Mark Herring in the Virginia Attorney General’s successful recount in 2013. Marc also served as lead counsel for Senator Al Franken in the 2008 Minnesota Senate election recount and contest—the largest recount and contest in American history. He currently serves as the chair of two organizations: Democracy Forward and We the Action. He serves on the board of directors of Priorities USA and on the advisory board of Let America Vote and Access Democracy. Marc is the former co-chair of the bipartisan Committee to Modernize Voter Registration. Marc served on the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Election Law and as an adviser to two American Law Institute projects: Principles of Government Ethics and Principles of Election Law: Resolution of Election Disputes. Marc has taught both law and political science, including “Post Election Litigation and Advanced Election Law” at William & Mary Law School and “Modern Campaigns and Elections” at Hamilton College. Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1993 Duke University, M.A., Political Science, 1993 Hamilton College, B.A., Government, 1990