A prominent election attorney for the Democratic Party has joined the legal dispute over a proposed ballot referendum to let voters decide whether to build Atlanta’s controversial Public Safety Training Center, “Cop City.”
Marc Elias of the Elias Law Group is throwing his political weight behind a proposed ordinance that aims to upend Atlanta’s petition review process for ballot referendums and end the use of the questionable verification practice called “signature matching” as activists pressured officials to put Cop City on the ballot for a citywide vote in 2024.
Elias’ entry into the Cop City furor was notable because he is one of the foremost attorneys in the country on voting rights issues and cases that emphasize the importance of fair and accessible elections. His involvement now gives anti-Cop City protesters a heavyweight in their corner as mainstream Democrats wanted to ensure election procedures are not undermined.
As one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific litigators, Elias has overseen a number of high-profile cases involving the White House and the Democratic National Committee, as well as lawsuits stemming from Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
In 2018, The New York Times called Elias “one of the most influential” Democrats in Washington who didn’t hold an elected position.
Elias coming on board with the Cop City case signified a larger shift in strategy as activists seeking a referendum on the $90 million facility faced continued delay tactics by local politicians who back the plan, including Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens.
Meanwhile, Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari was expected to introduce the ordinance to the full council soon, according to news organization Mother Jones, which obtained an exclusive draft of the proposal.
The case puts Elias’ firm on the opposite side of an unexpected legal battle with the majority-Democrat city council, as well as…
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