A delayed transition jeopardizes the lives of Americans during COVID-19 pandemic, says bipartisan National Council on Election Integrity

The bipartisan National Council on Election Integrity — a group of more than 40 former elected officials, former Cabinet secretaries, retired military officials, and civic leaders — issued the following statement in the wake of news that more than 250,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.

“The new administration needs to be able to hit the ground running on day one to be able to address the challenges facing the country, including the coronavirus pandemic. Tens of thousands more Americans will die unnecessarily from COVID-19 if there is not an efficient, smooth, and orderly transition.

“This week the American Medical Association (AMA), American Hospital Association (AHA) and American Nurses Association (ANA) called for the Trump administration to share ‘all information about the capacity of the Strategic National Stockpile, the assets from Operation Warp Speed, and plans for dissemination of therapeutics and vaccines’ as quickly as possible with the Biden transition team ‘to ensure that there is continuity in strategic planning’ and ‘no lapse in our ability to care for patients.’ We echo and reinforce that call. A delayed transition during this global pandemic only jeopardizes the lives of Americans.”

The National Council on Election Integrity — a bipartisan group of more than 40 government, political, and civic leaders who are devoted to defending the legitimacy of our elections — is a project of Issue One. See the full list of members of the National Council on Election Security.