The 2022 midterms are behind us, and we want to take a moment to thank all of the 3,500 volunteer lawyers who donated more than 45,000 hours to 36 organizations working to make the midterm elections safe, secure, and accessible for every voter.
That’s why we’re giving the next Amicus Mundi Award — a monthly award we present to an outstanding lawyer in our community — to a lawyer who donated his time to represent an election official facing legal challenges stemming from her work administering the 2020 elections.
Congratulations, Frank Feilmeyer!
The big picture: A lawyer from Iowa with more than 30 years of legal experience, Frank’s experience as a poll watcher led him to respond to a call from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law through We The Action’s network to volunteer to represent Roxanna “Roxy” Moritz, a local election official facing harassment and specious legal challenges stemming from her work in the 2020 elections.
“When this opportunity came up, I felt like it was so important to help a local official who was having a hard time,” Frank said. “Because of election denialism and the difficulties in that election, I felt it was time to step up and help out.”
“Election officials were - and remain - under attack”: Across the country, election officials faced harassment, threats, and frivolous legal challenges during and after the 2020 election— many aimed at impeding officials’ ability to do their jobs and ensure the election was safe, secure, and accessible for everyone.
“Election officials were — and remain — under attack,” says Liz Howard, senior counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program. “Helping to ensure they have committed legal counsel was an important piece of the Brennan Center’s efforts to support election officials.”
“Bullied and targeted”: This was happening to Roxy Moritz, who was serving as the chief election officer in Scott County, Iowa, the third most populous county in Iowa. The state announced an investigation into her decision to offer hazard pay to poll workers who staffed polling locations amid the COVID pandemic.
“She wanted to make sure that the people she was sending out to count votes were appropriately compensated for the risk they were taking,” Frank says. “Many people didn’t want to take that risk and she wanted to compensate the people willing to do the work.”
After resigning from her position due to the threats and harassment she faced, Roxy no longer had access to government representation — and that’s where Frank came in to represent her for free.
“People don’t understand the passion that election officials feel about our jobs, our constituency, and the services we’re delivering,” Roxy says. “To be bullied and targeted for doing our jobs was very emotional. Knowing that I had someone to protect my legal rights was extremely important to me.”
A trusted voice in a difficult time: Roxy says Frank helped decipher the complicated legal processes surrounding the investigation, which only officially concluded several months ago. Roxy says Frank also helped her maintain her mental health as the agonizingly slow process moved forward.
Frank says he had to navigate two competing factors: handling the media fallout of the investigation, and handling the day-to-day legal steps of the investigation itself.
“The news cycle is one thing, but the legal process for resolving these things tends to be a lot longer and less in the spotlight,” Frank says. “I was focused on making sure she knew that we were going to get this sorted out. It was a little bit of legal advice, a little bit of practical advice.”
You can help too!: Unfortunately, election officials across the nation still face harassment and threats every day. There are still opportunities for lawyers like you to help like Frank helped Roxy!
Along with our work with The Brennan Center, WTA has partnered with the Election Official Legal Defense Network to match lawyers with election officials facing harassment and threats.
Click here to sign up with the Election Official Legal Defense Network. Election officials need help with a variety of issues, such as harassment, defamation, and employment problems, so you don’t need election law experience to volunteer.”
On behalf of 45,000+ volunteer lawyers: Thank you, Frank!
And thank you again to the 3,500 volunteer lawyers who donated more than 45,000 hours to 36 organizations working to make the midterm elections safe, secure, and accessible for every voter. Your work made an enormous difference in the 2022 midterms, and we’re so grateful to have you in our community.