The basis of American democracy is that we pick our leaders. The most important outcome of any election is not who wins or loses, but that votes are counted accurately, and the candidate chosen by the voters is elected.
Voters take the first step by doing their job and turning out to vote, and hardworking election officials put in long hours to finish the vote count. Putting political differences aside, they make 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 go through thorough training and take their job of counting eligible votes seriously.
In Georgia and Pennsylvania, there are Republican secretaries of state, and in Arizona and Nevada, there are Democratic secretaries of state. All have uniformly committed to a fair, accurate and fully transparent count of election results. Americans should ignore any anxiety-inducing rhetoric that claims otherwise.
Regardless of party affiliation, every elected official 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 in an election.
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, politicians should be saying thank you. Thank you for making sure voters are heard, even at personal risk as threats, intimidation and harassment of election officials has increased in recent years.
Election officials will continue to conduct their their jobs with integrity, and with transparency, with observers from both major parties in every counting room to validate the process.
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.
Updated June 2024.
