Former national security leaders from Democratic and Republican administrations joined a coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups on Monday in urging Congress to provide states with funds to allow elections to move forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and\u00a0John Kerry<\/a>, former Homeland Security Secretaries Michael Chertoff, Tom Ridge and Janet Napolitano, former Director of National Intelligence\u00a0James Clapper<\/a>, former Secretary of Defense\u00a0Chuck Hagel<\/a>\u00a0and more than two dozen other leaders sent a letter to House and Senate leaders calling on Congress to provide the funds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that hostile foreign actors like China, Iran and Russia seek to cast doubt on the integrity of our electoral systems,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThese actors influence Americans by exploiting fear and confusion around the voting process. Failing to make sure that all citizens can vote safely and securely will only give them material to further erode faith in our democratic system.\u201d<\/p>\n The leaders asked that Congress include funding to shore up elections in the next COVID-19 stimulus package, noting that the previous $400 million appropriated in the stimulus bill signed into law by\u00a0President Trump<\/a>\u00a0in March was not nearly enough. Experts argue that states will need up to $4 billion to put on safe and secure elections this year.<\/p>\n The letter, spearheaded by New York University\u2019s Brennan Center for Justice, was sent the same day a coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups launched a week of action in an effort to pressure the Senate to approve election funds as part of the House-passed HEROES Act.<\/p>\n