As the midterm elections get underway across the United States, we have written this open letter to express business community support for free and fair elections. We are urging every candidate and election official nationwide to uphold our country’s democratic norms, electoral processes, and rule of law.
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Our member companies come from diverse industries and locations, and our employees hold a wide variety of political viewpoints. We all agree that America’s past traditions of orderly elections and peaceful transfers of power are essential to our functioning as a nation.
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From a business viewpoint, countries with democratic governments have better business conditions and economic outcomes than their non-democratic counterparts. Election disruptions and political instability threaten our financial markets and economic competitiveness. As such, our companies have a bottom-line business interest in the reliability of our country’s election processes.
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We stand at a pivotal moment for our nation, as misinformation, threats of violence, and election interference undermine faith in our democratic republic, placing our national security and economic prosperity at risk. For these reasons, we call on every candidate and election official to act in accordance with the following principles:

• Elections must be conducted according to the rule of law without partisan bias.
• Eligible voters must be able to exercise their right to participate in a transparent, safe, and secure electoral process without undue barriers.
• Candidates and election officials must promote a peaceful election process free from intimidation or threats of violence against election workers and opponents.
• Claims of election irregularities must be submitted in good faith for judgment by the judicial system in accordance with the law, and all participants must accept the outcomes of adjudication.

Regardless of the results on election night (and the days that follow as the counting of votes proceeds), we ask every candidate, election official, and public servant to put our country first by committing to act according to these principles and helping to restore confidence in our elections.