Washington, D.C. – Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman released the following statement regarding the results of the Presidential Election.
Statement of Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward
“Within days of taking office in 2017, Donald Trump and his administration took a series of actions that undermined and violated the rights and well-being of the American people and threatened our nation’s greatest values. At that time, Democracy Forward was founded to confront these unprecedented threats because the American people and our democracy needed the best lawyers to meet that perilous moment. All told, our team took the Administration to court more than 100 times, stopping unlawful activities and winning results that positively affected the lives of millions of Americans. Our work did not end when Donald Trump left office. After the violent attempt on January 6, 2021 to disrupt the peaceful transition of Presidential power–an attempt that resulted in the death of six individuals and more than 170 police officers being injured–our team accelerated its work for people and democracy, scaling our operations and now working in communities across the nation.
“Yesterday, the voting public decided to elect Donald Trump as President of the United States. And, in a testament to her dedication to the Constitution and to the laws of this nation, Vice President Harris has accepted those results. Our team at Democracy Forward accepts them too. We also accept the work that will be needed in the days ahead and are ready to support and defend the American people, our Constitution, and our nation from harmful and unlawful attacks on our rights and values. We are especially committed to defending the rights of people and communities who are the subject of unjust targeting, marginalization, and minimization to ensure the full power of the law and all the tools our Constitution provides to defend their rights is behind them.
“Make no mistake: When the Trump-Vance administration breaks the law or violates the Constitution to the detriment of people and communities, Democracy Forward and our partners in the legal community are prepared to take the Trump-Vance administration to court. We continue our commitment to defending the independence of our nation’s civil service, individuals who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, as opposed to swearing allegiance to one political ideology. And we are committed to defending American workers, who for too long have lost rights and protections, and to fundamental American freedoms like the right to have free and fair elections, and the fundamental right to abortion and reproductive health care.
“The election results last night still showed that when people in states have the opportunity to vote on specific policies through ballot initiatives rather than for candidates—including in solidly red states–they vote to protect the fundamental right to abortion and reproductive health care, to reject the threat to public education that are voucher programs, and to increase workers’ wages. And, over the course of the past year, in poll after poll and statement after statement we have seen diverse communities–conservatives, liberals, and independents–reject the extremism of Project 2025 and its far-right architects. In their campaign, Donald Trump and JD Vance denied association with Project 2025 and have said that they would not fully implement the Project, calling it ‘seriously extreme’ and its architects the ‘radical right.’ We will hold them to account if they stray from their assertions and promises to the American people. We intend to use all the tools our Constitution and our democracy provide to oppose harmful extremism and build a better future for the people in our nation.
“While the results of the election are disappointing to many, our nation finds its strength in its people. We, the people. There is nothing the American people cannot do. With courage and resolve, we will continue the generational work to fight for communities across our nation and we are grateful to all who join with us in this work.
“Democracy doesn’t end when an election is called; it lives through people and communities in this nation dedicated to building a more perfect union. That work continues today.”
For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
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