Election officials across the country are being inundated with open records requests, including many that appear to be coordinated.

Responding to these requests is consuming substantial time and diverting resources from election administration. Officials in many counties are overwhelmed and even going above and beyond the requirements of the law in order to ensure compliance, straining critical resources even further. This flood of requests is expected to continue, and even to intensify, after Election Day.

Lawyers will help election officials navigate the deluge of requests by providing advice about relevant exemptions and exclusions, opportunities to streamline responses to repetitive requests, and other ways to comply with open records laws without allowing them to monopolize resources intended for election administration. This assistance may take the form of short consultations with specific officials or general answers that will be made available to multiple officials for reference.

Experience with open records requests is required, whether the federal FOIA or a state open records framework. Volunteers will be asked to sign up for states where they are licensed or familiar with specific laws, though some volunteers may also be asked to research the legal framework in others states, as well.

Work on this project will be assigned on a rolling basis, as questions are received from election officials.