Christopher Piper is a political operative and was working as the chief operating officer of the Elections Group, a consulting organization that works with election offices and other local, state, and federal entities.

Background

Christopher Piper has an extensive career in election administration and law. From 2003 to 2008, Piper was a campaign finance manager for the Virginia State Board of Elections. In 2008, Piper became a political compliance consultant for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates, in which he trained clients in campaign finance and lobbying law. In 2011, he went back to the Virginia State Board of Elections to become the manager of election services until 2014. ¹

From 2014 to 2016, Piper became the executive director of the Virginia Ethics and Conflict of Interests Advisory Council. In this role, he implemented ethics legislation, created a searchable public database, and trained lobbyists and local officials. From 2016 to 2018, Piper worked as the deputy director of Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. ²

In January 2018, Piper was appointed commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections. In this position, Piper championed election security and the allegedly uniform application of laws, regulations, and policies. During that time, Piper sat on national boards including the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and the Electronic Registration and Information Center (ERIC) and served as chair of the Election Assistance Commission’s Standards Board. ³

Activities

In April 2022, Piper became the chief operating officer of the Elections Group, a consulting organization that works with election offices and other local, state, and federal entities. His role involves project management, day-to-day operations, and product development. ⁴

The Elections Group offers guidance on mail-in and absentee ballot processing, implementing ballot drop boxes, signature verification and curing process, adapting polling places to new health and safety policies, ballot reconciliation, post-election audits, and communication strategies. In addition to consultation provided by the group’s staff and its network of experts, it also advertises its ability to provide guidance documents, give advice on how election offices can “leverage existing technological solutions and expertise,” and offers direct mentorship and management support over the phone by its partnered experts. ⁵

On August 19, 2021, the Georgia Star News reported that the Fulton County Election Commission in Georgia was considering a $600,000 contract under which the Elections Group would review and assess Fulton County’s registration and election operations. Several individuals urged the commissioners to reject the contract. ⁶

As of March 2023, Piper’s pinned tweet on his Twitter profile was a post from June 2021: “The CDC recommends that anyone who thinks #elections are rigged should sign up to work as an election officer. Side effects include 1. Realizing our elections are not rigged; and 2. Becoming part of the solution rather than the problem.” ⁷

1. “Christopher Piper.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-piper-2753b865?original_referer=.
2. “Christopher Piper.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-piper-2753b865?original_referer=.
3. “Our Team.” The Elections Group. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.electionsgroup.com/our-team.
4. “Our Team.” The Elections Group. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.electionsgroup.com/our-team
5. “How We Help.” The Elections Group. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://electionsgroup.com/how-we-help.html.
6. Butler, Chris. “Fulton County Voters Urge County Commission Not to Approve Contract with Group Allegedly Tied to Mark Zuckerberg.” Georgia Star News. April 1, 2023. https://georgiastarnews.com/2021/08/19/fulton-county-voters-urge-county-commission-not-to-approve-contract-with-group-allegedly-tied-to-mark-zuckerberg/.
7. Tweet from Christopher Piper. Twitter, June 8, 2021. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://twitter.com/electCOO/status/1402327523803992067?cxt=HHwWhsC4sf_ciPYmAAAA.