Business Leader Statement On Respect For Elections

The Federal Candidate Pledge to Respect Elections was a statement from business leaders asking candidates to agree to uphold six basic principles. This pledge was sent to both major candidate Presidential campaigns.

Read our press release on the statement, released June 26, here.

Featured Press

  • This article announces Leadership Now’s statement, where over 125 business leaders urge presidential candidates to pledge to respect elections.

    "Business owners themselves have signed the pledge, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who said in a statement that the economy's health depends on the strength of our democracy. "As we prepare for the general election, it is critical that candidates reinforce confidence in our democratic processes, as election instability threatens business operations and economic stability."

    Read the article here.

  • A new business-led pledge may test the limits of corporate backing for lawmakers who fail to support election integrity, including former U.S. President Donald Trump. The new pledge was released last week under the umbrella of the Leadership Now Project, a bipartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for American democracy.

    Called the Federal Candidate Pledge to Respect Elections, the document calls on candidates for president and other federal offices to uphold the basic democratic guarantee of free and fair elections. The pledge cites six specific commitments for candidates, including respect for individual voting rights, ensuring the safety of election officials and, above all, supporting the peaceful transfer of power.

    More than 125 business leaders co-signed by the time of the announcement on June 26, including LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman. "As we prepare for the general election, it is critical that candidates reinforce confidence in our democratic processes, as election instability threatens business operations and economic stability," Hoffman said in a statement.

    Other signatories include “senior executives in tech, finance, consumer products, and other industries from 23 states, including swing states like Wisconsin and Arizona, which are experiencing unprecedented threats to election administrators,” according to Leadership Now. 

Federal Candidate Pledge to Respect Elections

We, the undersigned U.S. business executives, know first-hand that an innovative and prosperous economy relies on a strong, secure democracy and adherence to the rule of law.

In the United States, the President and Vice-President and all members of Congress swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. It follows that any candidate running for President or Vice-President, or the Senate or the House of Representatives should pledge their support to uphold the bedrock of our Republic: free and fair elections.

To that end, we ask candidates to pledge to:

  1. Comply with all federal and state election laws and regulations.

  2. Respect every eligible voter’s right to register and vote free from interference or intimidation.

  3. Support and help ensure the safety of election officials and poll workers from violence, threats, or intimidation.

  4. Make any claims of election irregularities or illegitimacy in accordance with applicable laws.

  5. Accept the legitimacy of the election outcome after the results have been certified and courts have made final rulings.

  6. Support and promote the peaceful transition of power, in victory or defeat.

The vitality and stability of our economy depend on adherence to these principles.

SIGNATORIES


Finance:

Eddie Fishman, Managing Director and Member of the Executive Committee, D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. and D.E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C (NY); Jeffrey C Walker, retired Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (FL); Chad Sweet, CEO, Chertoff Group (MD); Bruce Alan Heyman, Co-founder, Uncharted; former U.S. Ambassador to Canada; former Partner, Goldman Sachs & Co. (IL); Sean Burton, Chairman and CEO (CA); Maryfrances Metrick, Former Senior Managing Director, Centerbridge; Former Senior Managing Director, Blackstone (CT); Kevin Brennan, Bridgewater Associates, Head of Commodities and Geopolitical Research (CT); Amias Gerety, Partner, QED Investors (DC); Thomas Hoaglin, Former Chairman and CEO, Huntington Bancshares (OH); David Lubar, CEO, Lubar & Co; (WI); Mitchell S Fried, Belpointe Wealth Management, Senior Wealth Advisor (NY); Kahlil (KB) Byrd, Invest America | Shur (NY); Scott E Kalb, Founder and Director, Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative (CT); Nate Loewentheil, Managing Partner, Commonweal Ventures (NY); Robert Venable, Miami Corporation Management (WI); Patrick McGinnis, Founder (NY); Margaret McLurg, Financial Advisor (Retired), Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC franchise (OH); Leigh Ballen; CEO (IL); Andrew Sturner, Managing Partner (FL); Morgan McKenney (FL); Marc Baghadjian (NY); Joe Creney (MA)

Tech/Media:

Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder, LinkedIn; Investor, Greylock (NY); Donna Morea, Former President, CGI (MD); Charles O. Rosotti, Former CEO, American Management Systems (MD); Elizabeth Brenner, Former Publisher/President, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI); Charles C Hale, Chairman, Patch Media; President, Hale Global (NY); Eric Johnson, CEO, SurveyMonkey (CA); Michael F. Curtin, Retired President and COO, The Dispatch Printing Company (OH); Harrison Miller, Former Managing Director and Co-Head of Venture Capital, Summit Partners, L.P. (CA); Patrick Gross, Founder & Former Principal Executive Officer, American Management Systems, Inc.; Former Chairman and Board Member of Numerous Companies (MD); Michelle Crames, Mindcorp.AI President & Co-Founder (CA); Jeremy Liew, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners (CA); Nina von Moltke, Co-Founder & President, Authors Equity (NY); Bart Steiner, CEO, Bulbstorm Ventures LLC (AZ); Bill Demas, 4-time Silicon Valley CEO (CA); Mihai Pohontu, Chairman and CEO, Amber (CA); Bill Hoogterp, CEO, LifeHikes (NJ); Dan Nathan, Founder, RiskReversal Media (NY); Tristan Mace, Co-Founder & Chairman, Valeos (KS); Quintin Anderson, Co-Founder & COO, Granite River Labs (CA); Andrew Shue, Co-founder, Raptive (NJ); John Pleasants, Tech Executive (CA); Ninan Chacko, CEO; (NY); Ross Dakin, Criticality Sciences, Inc. (FL); Peter Brack, Hypothesis (CA); Patrick Beatty, Investor (CA); Rajeev Kapur, CEO (CA); Michael Sachse (DC); Lisa Stoner (GA); Amelia De Paola (MA); Matt Abrams (OR); Blaine Vess, Immeasurable (CA); Lynn Mickleburgh, Non-Executive Director (CA)

Consumer:

Jeni Britton, Founder, Jeni’s Ice Creams (OH); John Pepper, Former Chairman and CEO, Procter & Gamble (OH); Thomas Florsheim, Chairman and CEO, Weyco Group, Inc. (WI); John T Fees, Co-Founder & CEO - GradGuard - College Life Protected (AZ); John Florsheim, COO, Weyco Group (WI); Martyn Redgrave, Retired CAO/COO of L. Brands (OH); Elizabeth Ambargis, CFO (CT); Ken Pucker (MA); David Goldberg (MD); Katherine Cousins (MA); Matthew Blonder, EVP / Chief Digital Officer, Canada Goose (MA); Nina Pustilnik, CEO, Vividly (NY); Ajay Prakash, CEO, Rinse, Inc.; (CA); Jim Davey, Davey Marketing Group (MA); Jon D Mills, CMO, Partner (CO); Kathryn Hiney, Sr. Director Digital Product Platforms, VFC (NH); Molly Hyland, Director (NH)


Other Industries:

Paul Tagliabue, NFL Commissioner (1989-2006) (DC); Robert L. Crandall, Former Chairman and CEO, American Airlines (FL); Emma Bloomberg, CEO, Murmuration (NY); Oliver “Pudge” Henkel, Former Chief External Affairs Officer, Cleveland Clinic (OH); Richard W. Pogue, Senior Advisor, Jones Day; former Managing Partner, Jones Day Reavis & Pogue (OH); James Madlom, CEO, Mueller Communications (WI); Kristin Hamann, Global Brand Lead, Sanofi (MA); Miriam Donaldson, Founder, M Donaldson Consulting and Former Novartis executive (MA); Anoop Prakash, EVP, AriensCo (WI); Trey Beck, Former managing director, D. E. Shaw group (NY); Craig Maurice Robinson, Board Director (GA); Cathy M. Lyttle, Former Senior Vice President, Worthington Industries; Board Chair, Matriots Education Fund; Former Vice President, Columbus Chamber of Commerce (OH); Brian E Fees, CFO, Sierra-Cedar Group Holdings, LLC (GA); Mark S. Bergman, Founder, 7Pillars Global Insights, LLC (DC); Sachin Shivaram, CEO, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WI); Joel Poznansky, Chairman (MD); Linda Gorens-Levey, General Capital Group, Partner (WI); Jill Enos, Managing Partner, TitletownTech (WI); Matt Habash, President & CEO, Mid Ohio Food Collective (OH); Sheldon Hirshon, Former Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP (CA); Helen Kellogg, Principal, Brook Road Advisors (VT); Leo Sprecher, Budd Foods Inc, President (MA); Niko Canner, Founder and CEO, Incandescent; Chairman, Catchafire (NY); David Trowbridge, Founder, Solbridge Energy; (SC); Dan Yates, CEO, Dandelion Energy (DC); Austin Ramirez, CEO, Husco (WI); Sean Cummings, President & COO, Kacmarcik Enterprises (WI); Richard A. Stoff, Founding and Former President and CEO, Ohio Business Roundtable; Retired Partner, Ernst & Young; Senior Advisor, Leadership Now Project (OH); Elisa de Laet Jagerson, CEO, Electric Blue (CA); Paul DiGiammarino, 3X CEO - Steelpoint, Inc., Anaqua, Inc. and Article One Partners, LLC; Consultant (MA); David Hunt, CEO of Ensemble IP; Chairman of Applikate Technologies (FL); Roderick G. W. Chu, Chancellor Emeritus, Ohio Board of Regents (OH); Russell J. Barcelona, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Ascend Talent Strategies, Inc. (WI); Tom Dretler, CEO, Shorelight (MA); Cheryl Westmont, Co-Founder, Agenda 4 Democracy and Owner, Gardenscapes (CA); Shelley Jones Mellon, RL Jones Insurance (AZ); Michael Corey, Executive Director, Human Service Chamber of Franklin County (OH); Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO, McPherson Strategies (NY); Christian Walters (WI); Buzz Thomas, Co-Founder, Activate Detroit (MI); Tamara L. Tompkins, Chief Legal Officer (CA); David Mulligan, CEO, Eduvantis LLC (IL); Kevin Heard, Board President (MI); Deb Gordon, Startup founder (MA); Aaron J Oaks, CEO (AZ); Judith Fisher, Principal (OH); Mitul Desai (NY); John Levy (FL); Jeff Rusinow (WI); Clifford Thompson (NC); Homer Robinson (PA); James Bellas (FL)

*The individuals listed are signing as individuals, not as formal representatives of their respective organizations or business. Affiliations are included only for the purpose of identifying individuals.