Senator
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: Urgent and immediate need for election reform!

Dear Senator ,

I am deeply disturbed at the profound threat to the foundation of our democracy posed by the numerous very serious flaws and troubling questions around the integrity of the election on November 2nd. I strongly urge you to support and work to ensure passage of critical measures to safeguard the security and integrity of our basic election systems.

The following provisions are urgently needed to re-establish Americans’ faith and credibility in our democratic process:

The following provisions are urgently needed to re-establish Americans’ faith and credibility in our democratic process:

1. Mandate voter-verified paper ballot receipts for all electronic voting machines.
2. Establish strict and enforceable security guidelines for all computerized voting machines and tabulators, including prohibiting the "privatization" of our elections through "secret" programming source codes by private vendors that cannot be scrutinized by the public.
3. Bar election officials from working on any partisan campaigns.
4. Establish laws and strict penalties against voter suppression and intimidation.
5. Establish uniform voter registration and identification standards.
6. Ensure that all states have enough voting machines in every precinct to prevent voters from waiting for hours to vote.
7. Establish early voting in all states for two weeks prior to all national elections.
8. Ensure accurate voting roll purges, free of racial or party bias.
9. Establish nationwide polling hours of 6am-9pm.
10. Establish nationwide rules allowing voters to take time off from work to vote or, better yet, making Election Day a national holiday as it is in Puerto Rico, where voter turnout averages up to 30% higher than in the United States.

While the increased voter turnout on November 2nd was a hopeful sign for our democracy, the huge questions about the integrity of the vote threaten our future. I am counting on you to take immediate and decisive steps to see that the above provisions to safeguard democracy are implemented. Without these reforms, proclamations by our political leaders of the American dedication to democratic principles will ring hollow, Americans will lose faith in our electoral system, and the credibility of our international efforts to promote democracy around the world will be shattered.