Emma Olson Sharkey is a partner at Elias Law Group. She focuses her practice on nonprofit tax, voting rights, and campaign finance law – advising clients participating in ballot measures and engaging in political and issue advocacy, voter registration, voting rights, and post-election activities. Emma helps clients understand the law, anticipate challenges, and mitigate legal risk.

Emma is one of the nation’s leading ballot measure attorneys, counseling clients on how to effectively engage in measures across the country. She routinely defends clients engaged in ballot measure activity before state agencies and litigates ballot measures matters in courts. Most recently, she served as outside counsel to several reproductive freedom ballot measure campaigns during the 2024 election cycle, securing a restraining order prohibiting Florida officials from censoring her client’s speech. 

In addition, Emma regularly speaks and writes about ballot measures, most recently in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, NBC News, Slate, CBS News Radio, The Hill, Democracy Docket, Pluribus, and Common Dreams. Her research has also been cited by TIME Magazine. 

As outside counsel to nonprofit organizations and political committees, Emma helps clients navigate federal, state, and local political and campaign finance laws and IRS regulations, aiding them in achieving their objectives.

Emma also regularly advises clients in post-election efforts across the country, including statewide and congressional recounts and contests. Most recently, she helped a client secure a recount win with just a five-vote margin. In 2019, she helped successfully represent Democratic candidate Dan McCready in an election fraud hearing that resulted in North Carolina ordering a new congressional election. This decision was the first and only time a state has set aside a federal election because of fraudulent activity.

Prior to Elias Law Group, Emma worked at Perkins Coie LLP as a political law associate, counseling nonprofit organizations, campaigns, and political committees. She also led the 2016 Wisconsin voter protection program for Hillary for America and the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign, advocating for fair voting practices and responding to voting rights litigation.

She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University School of Law. Prior to law school, Emma worked for several nonprofit organizations and political campaigns.