BigTent is honored to host Marc Elias, the founder of Elias Law Group and Democracy Docket, alongside Lauren Groh-Wargo, the dynamic CEO of Fair Fight Action. Marc and Lauren are at the forefront of defending voting rights and combating voter suppression. Their unwavering commitment and groundbreaking work have had a significant impact on preserving the integrity of our democracy.
This event is an opportunity to engage in a discussion about how voter suppression has impacted elections to date and what are the next lines of attack in 2024.
About the Speakers:
Lauren Groh-Wargo is a top political, democracy and civic engagement strategist, executive, and fighter for economic justice. In 2012, Lauren began a partnership with Stacey Abrams to chart and then execute a ten-year plan to build power and policy wins for Georgia through supporting existing and building new civic engagement infrastructure. Spurred by wide scale voter suppression during the 2018 election, Lauren founded and is the CEO of Fair Fight Action, which focuses on fighting voter suppression and advancing voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings the full force of strategic campaign tactics and culturally relevant engagement and voter education to those most targeted by suppression and disinformation. Fair Fight played a leading national and battleground state role in the 2020 election and in the 2021 Georgia runoff.
Lauren started her career by organizing tenants to improve living conditions in Brooklyn, New York. An organizer at heart, Lauren has led or advised campaigns, nonprofit organizations, donors and leaders over the past 22 years in states in every region and at the national level. Raised near Cleveland, Ohio, she holds a degree in Economics from American University. Lauren resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her partner and nine-year-old son.
Marc Elias is the Firm Chair of Elias Law Group and is a nationally recognized authority and expert in campaign finance, voting rights, redistricting law, and litigation. As a litigator, Marc has handled hundreds of cases involving politics, voting rights, and redistricting. He has successfully argued and won four cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as dozens of cases in state supreme courts and U.S. courts of appeal.
In 2020, Marc led the historic legal effort to protect voting rights, winning over 60 lawsuits against MAGA’s efforts to suppress the vote. As aggressive challenges to voting continue, Marc keeps fighting back in court. Marc is also the founder of Democracy Docket, the leading platform for progressive advocacy and information about voting rights, elections, redistricting and democracy.
Marc is an alumnus of Hamilton College, Duke Law School and Duke Graduate School. He is a proud owner of a Portuguese Water Dog named Bode.