San Francisco Foundation CEO Fred Blackwell joined philanthropic leaders across the United States to call on our elected officials, media, and all members of our civil society to ensure that all eligible voters are able to vote and that their votes are counted.
From the letter:
Despite these challenges, American citizens have already begun to exercise their most sacred democratic obligation — voting — in numbers we have not seen in decades. Experts believe turnout for this election could top 150 million people, up from 139 million in 2016. Motivated by an intense interest in the presidential race, this wave of civic participation provides our best opportunity to begin the long journey of democratic renewal.
Repairing the fabric of our democracy will require extraordinary stewardship by leaders across society. This is especially true of elected officials at all levels of government, as their vigilance is key to ensuring the sacred right to vote is upheld, and the norms of representative democracy transcend partisanship. There are also important roles for media, businesses, civil society groups, citizens themselves, and our peers in philanthropy. To achieve this objective, we call upon leaders at all levels of government and sectors of society to uphold their obligations to democracy during this intensely partisan time.
