More Than 110 Philanthropists and Foundation Leaders Call for Secure Elections and a Peaceful Response to the Results

By: Alex Daniels
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Hirsch CEO Susan Hirsch has joined the Democracy Funders Network and Hirsch clients The Ray and Dagmar Dolby Fund, the FThree Foundation, and the Hellman Foundation along with many others to call for leaders across all sectors to uphold our democracy and ensure a free, fair, and safe election season.

(The Chronicle of Philanthropy) – As threats of voter intimidation are on the rise, 115 philanthropic leaders representing a range of ideological viewpoints have signed a letter pressing for safe elections with all votes tallied and the result respected peacefully.

The letter cites a “small but increasing number of partisans across the spectrum” who are willing to use violence and declining trust in government, plus a new breed of hyper-partisanship in which political opponents are viewed as enemies.

“These are giant warning signs for American democracy, for civil society, and for most of the issues about which philanthropy is concerned,” the letter says. It urges politicians, civil-society leaders, media companies, and everyday Americans to ensure “the sacred right to vote is upheld and the norms of representative democracy transcend partisanship.”

The letter was circulated by the Democracy Funders Network, a coalition of grant makers, and Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and was published on Medium.

Specifically, the letter calls for a halt to “unfounded claims about voter fraud or the illegitimacy of the election” and urges leaders to spread messages about the integrity of the voting process. It asks for a condemnation of all election-related violence and asks them to commit to a peaceful transition or continuation of power, depending on the outcome of the election.

Click here to read the rest of The Chronicle of Philanthropy article, and you can read the open letter on Medium here.