Statement by the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity on US Presidential Elections

In the lead up to the US Presidential Elections, members of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity has issued a statement warning how election interference stands as a major threat to the democracy and outline steps needed to protect and secure election integrity. 

STATEMENT: September 2, 2020 

Election interference is a major threat to the universal right of people to take part in the democratic process. With their fifth and final report, the US Senate Intelligence Committee has substantiated their bipartisan findings that malign foreign powers not only meddled extensively in the 2016 election, but that they are seeking to do so again. This should stir all Americans into action, but especially all candidates for election, who stand on the front line of foreign meddling.

The Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity (TCEI) was formed to unite transatlantic efforts against foreign election interference. We draw members from a wide range of political views, including both US parties. Unfortunately, in the last two years we have found that the foreign interference playbook has been adopted by domestic players. And since 2016, new tactics and strategies have emerged including deep fakes. We need a combination of actions from candidates, tech companies and media-alert citizens to ensure that societal trust, a fundamental glue of our democratic societies, is not undermined. 

Today, it is not only Moscow undermining democracies around the globe, but also Beijing, Tehran and other state and non-state actors. They are abusing our open societies. Free access to unfiltered information has accelerated media pluralism, but it has also facilitated the spread of ‘fake news’, dis- and misinformation and hyper-partisan narratives that play to our prejudices and evoke emotional responses. 

Against this backdrop, we encourage both Presidential campaigns, as well as US authorities at both the federal and state level, to issue clear warnings that there will be consequences to meddling in American democratic processes. In that vein, we are encouraged to see the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s participation in a messaging campaign to educate citizens about election security.

Technology companies must also contribute the effort and resources that the threat demands. The leading platforms should deploy state of the art technologies to monitor and thwart election interference.  Transparency is key. They should report what they find to governments and the media, and governments and the media should hold the tech companies to account.

Furthermore, we urge both Republican and Democratic candidates at all levels to take their own precautions against unwittingly aiding malign foreign powers, and we ask them to commit to conducting fair and transparent campaigns.  In early 2019, the TCEI created the ‘Pledge for Election Integrity’ in the run-up to the European Parliament elections. All lead candidates and in total 179 signed. Party leaders in Canada committed to the pledge before their 2019 elections, and we are currently working to expand its adoption in Georgia before that country’s late October election. As the US elections approach, we urge all candidates for public office – at all levels – to pledge not to abet efforts to undermine democracy. Our pledge remains open to sign for any candidate. https://electionpledge.org

Foreign efforts to meddle in our elections, polarize our societies, and to conquer us through our division are a clear and present danger to our democratic institutions and processes. National solutions alone are not the answer.  We must unite to confront the threat. But US leadership is key. In the run up to November 3^rd, and afterwards, the United States needs to return to the forefront of this international struggle for the future of all democracies.

Signatories