On November 2–3, Kilpatrick Townsend hosted the Georgia Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE) through the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as we have done during every major election since 2002. Unlike any other year, in 2020 the operation was entirely virtual, which made it more complicated and difficult in many ways. But the remote setup also allowed people from all of our firm’s offices to participate together, and made it possible to invite firm clients throughout the U.S. to join us. The whole operation was an incredible example of teamwork and collaboration.

Seventy-five attorneys and staff from the firm volunteered on the hotline on Election Day and the day prior, with many people working multiple shifts. These professionals served as hotline volunteers, captains, and members of the escalation and legal teams. The firm’s Pro Bono Team coordinated with the National Election Protection Command Center to make sure accurate and up-to-date information was going out to voters, and that local problems were being addressed in real time. Eight of our firm’s Desktop Support professionals stepped up in the week before Election Day, taking shifts to support hotline volunteers with problems connecting to sound or software.

Although the focus of Kilpatrick Townsend’s efforts was to lead and staff the Georgia hotline on November 2–3, dozens of firm attorneys and staff have been volunteering to help voters on the National Election Protection hotline since May 2020—through several primaries; into the runoff season in August and September; during early voting and Election Day, and even beyond. In fact, between May 1 and October 31 of this year, 126 Kilpatrick Townsend attorneys and staff from every part of the country recorded over 2,500 hours to Election Protection. This time was spent on training, researching voting-relating topics, answering voters’ questions, and setting up the infrastructure to host, lead, and staff the Georgia hotline on November 2–3.

Thank you to every person who participated in Election Protection this year! Together, we have played an important role in promoting the fairness, safety, and integrity of the U.S. voting system.