ELECTION RESOURCES

At the American Sustainable Business Network/Council, we know the upcoming elections matter tremendously for the key values that we hold of a just and sustainable economy and a democracy that works for all.

We want to share a number of excellent resources compiled by friend and partner organizations with you so that you can be well-prepared.

Thanks to the folks at Protect Democracy for their help in compiling these:

1. The most important thing right now is making sure people turn out to vote. Our democracy depends on people exercising their power as citizens to protect self-government in the United States. And one of the most effective tactics out there for helping those Americans who might not vote actually get to the polls is writing personal notes to them directly, which you can do from home via organizations like Vote Forward here.

2. There are still some places that are recruiting poll workers to help staff election day. If needs remain in your community, they will train you and get you everything you need. You can sign up to see if you might be needed at Power the Polls here.

3. The National Task Force on Election Crises that Protect Democracy launched in 2019 is building a network of folks who can distribute its resources to key stakeholders — in business, entertainment, faith, labor, national security, philanthropy, etc — to help mitigate and break through the noise of any crisis. One thing that everyone can do is serve as a link between the Task Force and key contacts in your network please email Chris Vaeth with “Task Force Outreach” in the subject line and tell him you’ll “be a connector.”

4. If you’re looking for an avenue where you can direct funding for any post-election crises, look into the Trusted Elections Fund (TEF). TEF is a pooled fund designed to be deployed quickly towards protecting elections wherever immediate — and often unpredictable — needs exist. For info, please email Melissa Spatz at mspatz@trusted-elections.org.

5. If you’re looking for resources to help explain the current risks and stakes to others, here are a few

a. Here is a TED talk Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy gave explaining the current choice between democracy and authoritarianism and why we should have hope for the future;

b. As noted above, this explainer lays out each tactic in the election subversion playbook and what the available remedies and safeguards are to guard against them — in addition, this deck provides some analysis of what to expect in terms of timing and shifting dynamics as the vote count comes in on election night and thereafter;

c. The If You Can Keep It newsletter has put out a whole host of explainers on topics like ongoing election subversion attempts, the existential struggle between journalism and authoritarianism, and a special series on how our democracy can survive;

Additional Resources compiled by Civic Business Initiative and Business for America:

Pre-election actions to consider

• Leadership team and board briefing deck — with election risk information and practical actions business leaders can take.
• Template CEO “lower the temperature” statement for internal or external communications.
• The Basics — a CBI brief overview of the basic actions businesses can take now to prepare for the 2024 election and beyond.
• CBI_Catalog — a powerpoint of detailed options for action that go beyond the actions in the basics doc.
• CBI Scenario Planning in a Box – instructions and tools to support execs in building preparedness for political risk.
• CBI Scenario Library – wide range of fact patterns and template scenarios to potentially use or adapt alongside of the “Scenario Planning in a Box.”
• Civic Alliance 2024 Elections Toolkit — content to help companies promote the significance and importance of participating in the 2024 elections; understand the electoral process, including key dates and terminology; enhance your audiences’ understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the elected positions on their ballot; and connect employees and customers with valuable resources to encourage and boost civic engagement and participation.

Please do what you can while you still can. Collectively, we will need to stand together no matter the outcome, so that together, we can build our vision of a just, sustainable and regenerative economy with a robust democracy that works for all. We will move forward together and make progress either way, but with these resources, we hope we can enable you to feel more prepared and help empower you to make a difference.