Letter From Former High-Ranking National Security Officials To Congress: Election Subversion Poses National Security Threat
Dear Members of Congress,
We are former senior national security officials who have served Democrats, Republicans, or administrations of both parties. We write to express our alarm at ongoing efforts to destabilize and subvert our elections, both through active disinformation campaigns and the related efforts to inject partisan interference into our professionally administered election process. We believe these efforts are profoundly damaging to our national security, including by making our elections more vulnerable to foreign interference and possible manipulation. We call on Congress to confront these threats and safeguard our democratic process as we look ahead to the 2022 elections and beyond.
In the months following the 2020 election, we have seen an unprecedented, coordinated effort to cast doubt on the U.S. election system. Disinformation and intimidation campaigns have targeted elected officials who oversee elections, nonpartisan civil servants who administer them, and companies that manufacture election equipment. And these disinformation campaigns have in turn fueled efforts to undertake hyper-partisan reviews of 2020 election results, like the one that recently concluded in Arizona, weakening both the security and integrity of elections. The rampant spread of election disinformation and the efforts to undermine confidence in the democratic process jeopardize our national security in a number of dangerous ways.
This degradation of our elections weakens our nation’s influence on the world stage. Our strong democratic traditions and practices have been a model for the world and a longstanding source of “soft power” for our country to inspire and persuade other nations. As we erode those respected practices, we weaken our standing and influence around the globe and set back the cause of democracy internationally. The insurrection on January 6th has left other countries to wonder if the American Experiment is failing and if American democracy is the best path forward. Rest assured, our adversaries are using the images from that day to convince their own people and other world leaders of the fragility of America and democracy as a concept.
Most concretely, partisan election reviews fueled by disinformation have increased the risk to election equipment and software by handing possibly sensitive election data and infrastructure over to inexperienced and unvetted third parties. In Arizona, for example, unaccredited individuals associated with the partisan election review gained extensive access to voting machines in the course of the so-called “audit” of the 2020 election. Allowing uncontrolled access to election equipment makes it impossible for election officials to verify the security of those machines. Moreover, while individual voting machines that may have been compromised can be replaced (albeit at significant cost to taxpayers), there is also the risk of exposure of sensitive election or voter data. Foreign or malicious actors might attempt to leverage this information through disinformation that calls into question the integrity of the election process and sows doubt about the results of future elections.
Disinformation has also spurred an unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation aimed at election officials. Recent surveys have found that one-third of election officials report feeling unsafe in their jobs, and more than one in six plan to retire before the 2024 election. The loss of these election officials, and their experience, puts future elections at risk. We need their expertise to help keep our elections safe from any inappropriate interference. In addition, we have seen a push to replace these outgoing officials with ideologues focused on partisan outcomes rather than secure, accurate, and accessible elections.
Finally, election disinformation erodes trust in our election system that can lead to political violence, and could be exploited by foreign actors. We saw this firsthand on January 6, when a mob motivated by the false belief that former President Trump was the rightful winner of the presidential election violently assaulted the Capitol. While this year’s disinformation campaigns cannot change the outcome of the 2020 election, they will fuel future calls to overturn election results. And if such a call were successful, the ensuing chaos, uncertainty, and potential violence could be exploited by foreign actors and leave us unprepared for a future attack.
Fortunately, it is not too late to harden our defenses against these risks. We all must recognize and speak out against destructive speech and practices that undermine fair elections and respect for their outcomes. In addition, Congress should push back on unwarranted and unsafe reviews of completed elections and put in place safeguards we know can help ensure safe and verifiable federal elections. That means paper ballots that can be checked by voters themselves and in appropriate audits after the election, and strong protections for the proper handling and storage of ballots and equipment, with real penalties for those who knowingly violate those laws.
We must also do more to protect the professionals who run our elections. Following 2020, there have been few consequences for those who threatened elections officials. Congress needs to ensure that threats of violence and actual violence are subject to real penalties. In addition, the Department of Justice and FBI should use existing authorities to protect election workers and hold wrongdoers accountable, and provide regular updates to Congress and the public regarding the ongoing threats against election workers and the steps they are taking to combat those threats. We believe Congress must throw its weight behind these vital measures to protect our democracy. If this playbook of undermining and subverting our elections is left unchecked, the campaigns to do so will become increasingly more sophisticated and difficult to rebuff, making it increasingly likely that a majority of Americans will no longer trust election results.
In the course of our careers, many of us have analyzed the threats posed by unstable democracies elsewhere, never imagining we would begin to see similar threats at home. Sadly, that moment has arrived. We have strong democratic institutions and traditions, but they are being placed in severe jeopardy in the current climate. We call on you to meet this challenge squarely and put in place the defenses that will safeguard the integrity of our sacred democratic institutions.
Sincerely,
(Note: All titles are former positions or military ranks held prior to retirement.)
Javed Ali, Senior Director for Counterterrorism, National Security Council
Eric Allison, Deputy Assistant Director and Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency
Daniel Baer, U.S. Ambassador; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Rand Beers, Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, National Security Council
John Bellinger III, Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State; Legal Adviser, National Security Council
Jenna Ben-Yehuda, Senior Military Advisor, U.S. Department of State
Diana Bolsinger, Analytic Manager, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Tatyana Bolton, Senior Policy Director, U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission
Steven Browning, U.S. Ambassador; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State
David Buss, Minister Counselor, Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State
Ned Carmody, Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Kevin Carroll, Senior Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Steven Cash, Chief Counsel, Office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein; Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Judith Cefkin, U.S. Ambassador
Michael Chertoff, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence
William Cohen, Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense
Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador; Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
George Croner, Principal Litigation Counsel, National Security Agency
Michael Daniel, Special Assistant to the President; Cybersecurity Coordinator, Executive Office of the President
Glyn Davies, U.S. Ambassador; Executive Secretary, National Security Council
Greg Delawie, U.S. Ambassador
Melvin Dubee, Deputy Staff Director, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Eric Edelman, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Gerald Feierstein, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; U.S. Ambassador
Brenner Fissell, Appellate Counsel, Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions
Mark Fitzpatrick, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Non-Proliferation
Kim Fuller, Director, International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Army
Stuart Gerson, Acting Attorney General of the United States; Assistant Attorney General
Glenn Gerstell, General Counsel, National Security Agency
Kevin Green, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy
Jennifer Gregg, Senior Intelligence Service, Central Intelligence Agency
Anne Gruner, Senior Intelligence Service, Central Intelligence Agency
Jay Gruner, Area Division Chief and Station Chief, Central Intelligence Agency
Morton Halperin, Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of State
Michael V. Hayden, General, U.S. Air Force; Director, Central Intelligence Agency; Director, National Security Agency
Margaret Henoch, Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency
Dennis Jett, U.S. Ambassador; Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council
Christy Jobe Carter, Senior Program Manager, Central Intelligence Agency
Richard Kauzlarich, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs; U.S. Ambassador; National Intelligence Officer for Europe, National Intelligence Council, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Peter Keisler, Acting Attorney General of the United States
Susan Koch, Assistant Director, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Christopher Krebs, Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
James Lawler, Senior Intelligence Service Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Operations
J. William Leonard, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security and Information Operations
Robert Litt, General Counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
George Little, Press Secretary, Pentagon; Spokesman, Central Intelligence Agency
Hugo Llorens, U.S. Ambassador
Lewis Lukens, U.S. Ambassador
Matt Masterson, Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission; Senior Cybersecurity Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Lesa McComas, Commander, U.S. Navy
Dennis McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment; Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy
James Mcilmail, Executive Director for Operations, Defense Intelligence Agency
Joseph Medina, Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps
Christopher Mellon, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Janet Napolitano, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Governor of Arizona
Elizabeth Neumann, Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
John Norris, Director of Central Intelligence Representative to the Secretary of Defense
Suzanne Nossel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations
Christopher Painter, Coordinator for Cyber Issues, U.S. Department of State; Senior Director for Cyber Policy, National Security Council
Larry Pfeiffer, Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency; Senior Director, White House Situation Room
Annie Pforzheimer, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan
Randal Phillips, Senior Intelligence Service, Central Intelligence Agency
William Piekney, Senior Operations Manager, Central Intelligence Agency
Steven Pifer, U.S. Ambassador
Tony Pipa, Chief Strategy Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development
Robert Pirie, Acting Secretary of the Navy
Marc Polymeropoulos, Senior Intelligence Service, Directorate of Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
Thomas B. Robertson, U.S. Ambassador; Dean, School of Leadership & Management, U.S. Department of State
Harold Robinson, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy
Todd Rosenblum, Deputy Under Secretary of Intelligence, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense, U.S. Department of Defense
Paul Rosenzweig, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Joel Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
Robert Shanks, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
Nick Shapiro, Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Douglas Silliman, U.S. Ambassador
John Sipher, Senior Intelligence Service, Central Intelligence Agency
Rosa Smothers, Senior Manager, Central Intelligence Agency
Suzanne Spaulding, Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security
Karen Stanton, U.S. Ambassador
Miles Taylor, Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Kurt Tong, Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau
Olivia Troye, Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence
Alexander Vershbow, NATO Deputy Secretary General; Assistant Secretary of Defense; U.S. Ambassador
Edward Walker, U.S. Ambassador; Assistant, Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Thomas Warrick, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Mark Weatherford, Deputy Secretary for Cyber Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Pamela White, U.S. Ambassador
Jon Wiant, Assistant Inspector General for Security and Intelligence, U.S. Department of State; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Intelligence, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State
Jonathan Winer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement
Douglas Wise, Senior Intelligence Service, Central Intelligence Agency; Deputy Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Tom Wolfson, Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Marie Yovanovitch, U.S. Ambassador
Dov S. Zakheim, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
