It shouldn’t have to be said, but it was said, repeatedly, this week – and by powerful voices in the business community: Any post-election transfer of power must be peaceful.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is an association of 275 faith-based institutional investors – and a leader in corporate social responsibility – with members’ portfolio of an an estimated $100 billion. This week it reached out to many companies across the country. This from its news release:
“he Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility .. has sent a letter to more than 200 companies urging them to use their collective voices to support free and fair elections….
“The letter cited unfounded concerns about election fraud expressed by elected officials and President Donald Trump’s failure to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election as reasons for the statement ‘… we believe the business community has a moral and business imperative to use its public platforms to promote confidence in our elections and our democracy…’ ”
Among six specific requests of the recipient companies, the ICCR letter included, “asking support for free and fair elections, a call for a thorough and complete counting of all ballots, condemnation of any tactics that could be construed as voter intimidation, and assurance that, should the incumbent administration lose the election, there will be a peaceful transition of power.”
Link to the ICCR letter: PC(USA) joins call on corporations to support free and fair elections
In turn, a day later a broad coalition leading business associations, including the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement with these highlights:
” The strength of our nation’s democracy depends on the integrity and fairness of our elections. We urge Americans to exercise their right to vote.This election, tens of millions of Americans are expected to vote by mail, and it may be days or even weeks until the outcome is settled … We urge all Americans to support the process set out in our federal and state laws and to remain confident in our country’s long tradition of peaceful and fair elections.
“Regardless of the election outcome, we look forward to working with the Administration and the new Congress to ensure a strong and safe economic recovery while working to build long-term prosperity for all Americans.”
Link to business statement Broad-based Coalition of Business Leaders’ Statement on 2020 Election
Build long-term prosperity for all Americans. So say we all.