The basis of American democracy is that we pick our leaders. The most important outcome of this election is not who wins or loses, but that votes are counted accurately, and the candidate chosen by the voters is elected.
Braving a pandemic, voters have done their job by turning out to vote in record numbers, and hardworking election officials have stood shoulder to shoulder to finish the vote count. Putting political differences aside, they are making sure democracy is delivered for the American people.
Our elections are highly decentralized, and our systems are resilient. They include 51 separate counts across the states and the District of Columbia. Each is administered by qualified officials who take their job of counting eligible votes seriously.
In Nevada and Georgia, there are Republican secretaries of state, and in Arizona and Pennsylvania, there are Democratic secretaries of state. All have uniformly committed to a fair, accurate, and fully transparent count, and that is what they are doing right now. Americans should ignore any anxiety-inducing rhetoric that claims otherwise.
Every elected official — of both parties —owes it to our democracy to speak out against any attempts to undermine the integrity of our election system and undermine public confidence in whoever is declared the winner.
The government of the United States draws its just powers from the consent of its people, expressed in free and fair elections through which we decide who will govern. There is no more powerful and important tradition than the peaceful transition of power, which America has done for more than 200 years.
Instead of impugning the integrity of election officials and calling them and the process they oversee “corrupt”, politicians should be saying thank you. Thank you for making sure voters are heard, even at personal risk during this nationwide pandemic.
Election officials are doing their jobs with integrity, and with transparency, with observers from both major parties in every counting room to validate the process. It's time we come together to recognize and respect the will of the people and begin to move forward as a country.
We have a duty as Americans to accept the results of the presidential election, even if the candidate we supported does not win. The American people choose their leaders. Politicians don’t decide the results of elections, voters do.
