We join this letter from profound love of our country, and from personal experience with what freedom and democracy in the United States symbolize for people around the world.
In working to strengthen democracy and human rights overseas, we have seen nations overcome monumental crises in pursuit of freedom. So often these heroic acts have been inspired by the symbol of America at its best.
For generations, the United States has stood out as a beacon for people seeking to establish or strengthen democracy in their countries, often after years of nondemocratic rule. We have inspired others to seek the pillars of a free society, including:
- Commitment to the rule of law, to constitutionalism, and to human liberties;
- Government that derives its authority from free and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
We now face a challenge greater than many of us have ever experienced, a pandemic that will destroy lives, threaten our basic institutions, and test our character. To meet this challenge, we must live up to the great heritage that has helped America inspire freedom loving people around the world.
We urge our political leaders to embrace these principles:
- In this time of a global pandemic health crisis, we must find honorable compromises to strengthen our democratic institutions, starting with ensuring that the 2020 elections can take place consistent with the Constitution and in an inclusive, transparent, secure, and fair manner.
- Government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” depends upon elections that enable participation by all citizens. If we fall short of enabling full participation, we undermine the trust in government that is fundamental at all times, and essential in a time of crisis. Now more than ever we must do better.
- State and national legislators must recognize the absolutely unique circumstances that we find ourselves in today, and must help enable electoral procedures that do not require a choice between protecting health and exercising the franchise.
- Times of crisis demand government that is effective and trusted by the people. We must promote truthfulness and reasoned discourse, and combat disinformation, dishonesty, and rhetoric that undermines confidence in our democratic processes and our elections.
- To help lead the community of nations as the world recovers, the United States must continue to prioritize support for democracy and human rights, and must speak out against regimes that take advantage of the pandemic to undermine fundamental freedoms and democratic norms.
Signed,
| (Affiliations are provided for identification purposes; signers participate in this letter in their individual capacities only.) | |
| Michael Abramowitz
President, Freedom House |
Paige Alexander
Former Assistant Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development |
| J. Brian Atwood
Former Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Former President, National Democratic Institute |
Susan Atwood
Former Regional Director, National Democratic Institute |
| Dan Baer
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe |
Frederick (Rick) Barton
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations; |
| Howard Berman
Former Member of Congress; Former Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee |
Eric Bjornlund
President, Democracy International |
| Thomas Carothers
Vice President for Studies and Director Democracy and Rule of Law Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |
David Carroll
Director, Democracy Program, The Carter Center |
| Susan Corke
Executive Director, Trans-Atlantic Democracy Working Group, German Marshall Fund |
Larry Diamond
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University |
| Paul Fagan
Director of Human Rights and Democracy Programs, McCain Institute for International Leadership; Former Africa Director, International Republican Institute |
Mark Feierstein
Former Assistant Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Former Senior Director, National Security Council |
| Steve Feldstein
Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University |
Jeff Fischer
Former International Election Supervisor – Bosnia and Herzegovina, East Timor, and Kosovo |
| Larry Garber
Former Mission Director West Bank/Gaza, U.S. Agency for International Development; Former Senior Associate for Electoral Processes, National Democratic Institute |
Jeffrey Gedmin
Former President, Radio Free Europe; Editor, The American Interest
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| Kevin Johnson
Executive Director, Election Reformers Network |
Patricia Keefer
Project 18 Youth Vote; Former Senior Associate, National Democratic Institute |
| Monica Kladakis
Senior Advisor for Human Rights and Democracy, McCain Institute for International Leadership; Project Manager, George Bush Presidential Center |
Jim Kolbe
Former Member of Congress; Former Chair, House Sub-Committee on Foreign Operations |
| David J. Kramer
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Former President, Freedom House |
Stuart P. Krusell
Former Director of Operations for Iraq, International Republican Institute; Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan;
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| James Kunder
Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development |
Barbara Langley
Former Country Director Romania, Bosnia, Mongolia, International Republican Institute; Former Executive Director, Arab Women’s Leadership Institute |
| Mark P. Lagon
Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large responsible for Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Persons; Chief Policy Officer, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria |
Scott Lansell
Former Senior Director, International Foundation for Electoral Systems; Vice President for International Development, GeoPoll |
| Lindsay Lloyd
Bradford M. Freeman Director of the Human Freedom Initiative, George W. Bush Institute; Former Regional Director, International Republican Institute |
Michael McFaul
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia; Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University |
| Edward McMahon
Former Regional Director, National Democratic Institute; Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Vermont |
Thomas O. Melia
Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Assistant Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development |
| Sarah E. Mendelson
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council; Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and Head of Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University |
James Michel
Former U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala; Former Counselor, U.S. Agency for International Development |
| Derek Mitchell
President, National Democratic Institute; Former U.S. Ambassador to Burma (Myanmar) |
Desaix (Terry) Myers
Former Professor, National War College; Former Mission Director Indonesia and Russia, U.S. Agency for International Development |
| Kent Patton
Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs |
Mary Ann Peters
CEO, The Carter Center; Former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh |
| Liza Prendergast
Senior Director for Strategy and Outreach, Democracy International |
Susan Reichle
Former Counselor, U.S. Agency for International Development |
| Avery Davis Roberts
Associate Director, Democracy Program, The Carter Center |
Nilmini Rubin
Managing Director & Co-Founder, Fix the System; Former staff member, National Security Council |
| Mark Schneider
Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs; Former Director, U.S. Peace Corps |
Eric Schwartz
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Population Refugees and Migration; Former Senior Director, National Security Council |
| Nancy Soderberg
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Political Affairs; Former Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs |
William Sweeney
Former CEO, International Foundation for Electoral Systems |
| Chris Vance
Former Chairman, Washington State Republican Party |
Aaron Williams
Former Director, U.S. Peace Corps |
| Christine Todd Whitman
Former Governor of New Jersey; Former Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency |
Kenneth Wollack
Former President, National Democratic Institute |
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Additional Signers: [Affiliations included upon request]
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| Jenn Watts May 1, 2020 Former Deputy Campaign Manager, Obama for America; |
Jeffrey Marburg-Goodman May 1, 2020 Former Special Counsel to the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator |
| Mark Bartolini May 1, 2020 Former Director, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development |
Roz Schwartz-Fein May 1, 2020 |
| Howard Sumka May 1, 2020 Former Local Government and Democracy Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development |
Jena Karim May 2, 2020 Asia Advisor, National Democratic Institute |
| John Brautigam May 2, 2020 Member, Maine State Legislature |
Anna Wang May 2, 2020 |
| Rob Black May 2, 2020 Former Liberia Project Advisor, The Carter Center; |
Richard Terry May 2, 2020 Common Cause |
| Andrew Albertson May 2, 2020 Founding Executive Director, Project on Middle East Democracy |
Jennifer Cohan May 2, 2020 |
| Lionel C. Johnson May 2, 2020 Board Member, National Democratic Institute; |
Barry Singer May 2, 2020 |
| Cathy Duvall May 3, 2020 Founder, Democracy Ascent Advisors |
Taly Lind May 3, 2020 Democracy and Governance Foreign Service Officer, US Agency for International Development |
| Susan Kupperstein May 3, 2020 Former Senior Program Officer, Iraq, National Democratic Institute; |
Debbie Goldman May 3, 2020 |
| Kristina Wilfore May 3, 2020 Former Resident Director, National Democratic Institute; |
Barbara Smith May 6, 2020 Former Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, National Security Council; |
| Joseph A. Esposito May 6, 2020 Former Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Education |
Jarod Mooney May 11, 2020 Associate Director of Development, Ambassador’s Circle, The Carter Center |
| Ann Colville Murphy May 12, 2020 Attorney |
Joseph A. Hennessey May 12, 2020 Attorney at Law |
| Mike Marshall May 12, 2020 Former Senior Program Officer, National Democratic Institute |
Alan Khazei May 13, 2020 Co-Founder City Year; |
| Maggie Christie Keohan May 15, 2020 Former Program Officer, Russia & Ukraine, National Democratic Institute |
Susan Friedman May 19, 2020 |
| Dr. Amy Anderson May 19, 2020 |
Candice Brower May 19, 2020 |
| Hugh Brown May 20, 2020 |
Aubrey Menardt May 20, 2020 International Elections Observer |
| Rick LaRue May 22, 2020 Former Deputy Director of the Eisenhower Institute and of the American Society of International Law |
Lori van Dam May 22, 2020 |
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| James E. Tierney May 23, 2020 Former Attorney General of Maine, Lecturer in Law, Harvard Law School |
Jed Ober May 23, 2020 Democracy International |
| Avram Reisman May 23, 2020 Formerly with Democracy International |
Kirby Neuner May 23, 2020 Formerly with Democracy International, Incoming at The U.S. Agency for International Development |
| William Condon May 23, 2020 |
Aleksandra Zaytseva May 23, 2020 National Endowment for Democracy |
| Rick Ferreira May 23, 2020 |
Patricia Alejandro May 24, 2020 Democracy International |
| Terry Hoverter May 24, 2020 Creative Associates International |
Kevin Russell May 24, 2020 |
| Grayson Lewis May 25, 2020 Former Project Assistant, National Democratic Institute |
Emily Bremner May 25, 2020 Former Program Manager, Office of Transition Initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development |
| Andrea Steward May 26, 2020 Democracy International |
Abby Cohen May 26, 2020 Democracy International |
| Claire Robertson May 26, 2020 Director, Strategy and Outreach, Democracy International |
Al Vanderklipp May 27, 2020 Election Reform Fellow, Election Reformers Network |
| Gina Bjornlund May 29, 2020 Democracy International |
Tracy Igberaese May 31, 2020 |
| Sameera Ali June 10, 2020 Former Director at NDI and Democracy International |
Jennifer Butz June 10, 2020 |
| Shayna L. Hamilton June 11, 2020 |
Mike Stover June 12, 2020 |