Some business leaders are ready to defend election officials and the voting process after polls close

The midterm elections are almost upon us, and some business leaders are speaking out, urging candidates and public officials to respect the voting process and abide by election results. Among their motivations: the Trump administration’s preemptive challenge of the result in Alaska’s Senate race and its demand that California set aside 20,000 ballots.

The business leaders’ argument is that free and fair elections are essential for a functional economy.

Back in 2020, supporters of President Donald Trump in Arizona made several attempts to reverse Joe Biden’s victory there. Courts dismissed those challenges, but John Fees, head of a Phoenix-based insurance company called GradGuard, said that during all that, the business community was more or less silent.

“We didn't speak up in a unified voice about the integrity of the elections, and what ends up happening, right, is lies travel faster than the truth,” Fees said.

So, he joined with other business leaders to defend election officials and the process. This year, he and his allies sent out a questionnaire to candidates in six statewide races in Arizona.

“Will you accept the election results at the conclusion of all legitimate appeals? In other words, if you lose, will you accept the results?” Fees said. Some, but not all, candidates have signed on.

Other business leaders around the country have added their names to public statements arguing that any disruption to the vote impacts the bottom line.

“A strong economy depends on strong institutions,” said Ose Sesay, who runs a consulting firm in Minnesota. “Election legitimacy isn’t just a civic priority; it's an economic one. So businesses need to be involved. Their voices need to be heard.”

In neighboring Wisconsin, a group of business leaders is preparing to respond if candidates or others attempt to disrupt vote certification.

“We are working on setting up a phone tree,” said Tom Florsheim, CEO of the Weyco Group, a shoe company whose brands include BOGS and Florsheim (the shoes the president reportedly gives to cabinet members).

The goal of the phone tree is to rally about 50 business leaders “and call those people and ask them to reach out to politicians in Wisconsin that we have connections with. We have connections with our attorney general here,” Florsheim said.

Their message, he added, would be that election results have to be respected and certified. Florsheim’s hope is that support from the private sector will help the public sector carry out an essential democratic process.