Count Every Legal Vote—No More, No Less

COMMENTARY Election Integrity

Count Every Legal Vote—No More, No Less

Nov 5, 2020 1 min read
COMMENTARY BY
The Hon. Kay Coles James

Emeritus Trustee since 2022

Heritage Trustee from 2005 to 2022 | Heritage President from 2018 to 2021
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Conservatives have every reason to be optimistic about the outcome of this election. As we await the results, America needs a secure, transparent, and peaceful vote-counting process. 

Every legal vote must count and every election official has the duty to report all potentially illegal and fraudulent activity in their jurisdictions. The functioning of our republic depends on accurate and reliable election results. The longer the process drags out, the more open it is to fraud and abuse.


We know this situation was entirely avoidable. Officials at the state and local levels had ample time to create protocols to prevent this uncertainty, but they didn’t rise to the challenge. Instead, too many put their partisan interests above our right to vote. 

Heritage Foundation experts and our allies will work on behalf of the American people to monitor the process through our election integrity project. We’ll be in constant communication with government officials, the media, and the public as this process unfolds. And we’ll continue to call out any attempts to subvert election integrity. 

In the end, no matter who wins, there’s still much work to be done, and The Heritage Foundation isn’t pausing. We’re continuing to address America’s threats from within and from abroad. Heritage will continue to advise policymakers on the best ways to counter the pandemic and its economic fallout, violent unrest in our streets, run away federal spending, the push for more socialist policies, and many more of the serious threats we face. 

Heritage has fought for the interests of the American people for nearly 50 years and through 12 presidential elections, no matter who occupies the White House or who holds the majority in Congress. As we await the conclusion of what we hope will be a speedy process, we continue our mission to help ensure that America remains a land of unprecedented opportunity and the freest, most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

I can assure you, Heritage will never stop fighting for America.