Business Leaders Should Focus On Safe And Secure Elections

Election Day is about a month away, and a safe and secure election is vital not only to our democracy but also to our economy. Unfortunately, increasing efforts at the state level seek to disrupt voting or ignore the will of the voters. Business owners, both large and small, can play a role in ensuring that elections remain free and fair, while taking concrete actions to protect democracy.

Following the chaos of the 2020 election, some business leaders took action, but not enough. Congress has passed legislation modernizing the Electoral Count Act, raising the objection threshold from one member of each chamber to 20%, making it more difficult to raise baseless objections and interfere with the certification process. But this isn’t just about what’s happening in Washington, D.C.

At the state level, some leaders are pushing laws and policies that could undermine election results. Several state and local leaders are complicating what should be a straightforward process and potentially deterring voters.

Perhaps the most alarming example is in Georgia. The state’s election board recently issued a rule requiring counties to hand-count ballots cast at polling places on Election Day to ensure the numbers match those counted by machines. This unnecessary measure could cause significant delays in reporting results, fostering distrust in the process.

Georgia’s law also allows a single county election board member to delay the certification of county-wide elections by calling for an investigation, which could disrupt the entire vote count for the state. This has business owners worried. A survey of more than 500 small business owners found that 76% are concerned this could lead to political instability. Additionally, 77% worry that such changes could result in disputes over election certification, leading to broader political and economic instability.

“Voting is a fundamental right of American citizens. The strength of our nation’s democracy and the stability of America’s economy depend on free and fair elections,” said Joshua Bolten, CEO of the Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies.

Political instability is bad for business. The U.S. is currently considered a low-risk investment, allowing entrepreneurs to borrow money at low interest rates and finance infrastructure projects. However, Fitch Ratings recently downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, and Moody’s downgraded its outlook due to “continued political polarization.” If instability continues, these credit ratings could drop further, driving up interest rates and making it harder to start and grow businesses.

According to the Harvard Negotiation Project, businesses face several risks from election-related instability, including: increased stress, distraction, and disharmony among employees, impacting productivity and morale, political violence and civil unrest threatening the safety of employees and customers, Property damage and operational disruption due to civil unrest, cyberattacks disrupting infrastructure, communications, and financial systems, supply chain disruptions, increased market volatility, and potential capital market disruption.

What Business Owners Can Do

Business owners don’t have to sit silently — they can take steps to support safe and secure elections, and lead civic engagement in their companies.

1. Encourage Civic Engagement: Business owners can make voting easy for their employees by offering paid time off to vote and work at polling places.
2. Support Democracy Legislation and Secure Elections: Business leaders can take a public and private stand for voting rights by providing employees with key facts to counteract misinformation about election security. For example, voter fraud is extremely rare, and mail-in voting has been proven safe and reliable over decades of data.
3. Raise Awareness of Political Instability Risks: Stable governments and institutions are critical for business success and it is in business owners and leaders interest to raise awareness if they see efforts in their community that can cause instability.

Resources for Business Leaders

If you are a business owner, you also don’t have to start from scratch. There are several organizations dedicated to helping business leaders protect democracy and promote civic engagement. Here’s where you can find support and additional resources.

1. Leadership Now Project: The Leadership Now Project focuses on protecting democracy by engaging business leaders and aligning private sector support.
2. The Civic Alliance: The Civic Alliance helps businesses empower their employees to become more civically engaged.
3. Business Forward Foundation: Business Forward helps companies navigate public policy and engage in civic issues, offering insights and resources to align business practices with democratic values.
4. The Business & Democracy Initiative: This initiative focuses on the intersection of business success and democracy, advocating for stable governance and institutions to reduce political risks that harm economic growth.

“It can take time to finalize election results, and we urge all Americans to respect the processes set out in federal and state laws for electoral determinations and an orderly transition,” said Bolton.

Business owners have the power to lead by example. Gallup’s Confidence Survey consistently finds small businesses to be the most trusted institutions in the country. As Election Day approaches, businesses can use this trust to ensure stable and fair elections, preserving both democracy and their bottom lines.