At this moment throughout the 10,000 voting jurisdictions that exist in this nation virtually all of them suffer from deficient technology and antiquated software and as a result are vulnerable to cyber attacks upon their accuracy and reliability that foreign or domestic actors will assuredly  mount.

This horrifying reality presents the potential to subvert our most cherished constitutional privilege and extinguish our noble experiment in representative democracy that has endured for more than two centuries.

In a previous era of collaboration and negotiation the imperative solutions to this impending catastrophe would be hammered out in a process of bi-partisan compromise that would provide the funding and technical expertise this endeavor requires. Tragically, the current political environment is so divisive and awash in conflict and animosity that these remedies for this challenge to will not be forthcoming from this arena.

To those who have greeted the announcement by Senator McConnell that he would support the appropriation of 250 million dollars to mitigate the current extensive vulnerabilities to which our  2020 electoral cycle is currently exposed, the reality of what is being proffered by the Majority Leader is nothing more than in exercise in political subterfuge.

For in the absence of any specific requirements to dictate the precise manner  in which these funds must be expended to protect the security and integrity of our looming national plebiscite (and no such provisions are contained within this prospective legislative appropriation) this is yet another deceitful gesture that does virtually nothing to protect our citizens from the intrusion and potential alteration of those ballots we cast in a scant 13 months from this date.

Thus, at this moment the exclusive salvation to this lethal challenge to our democracy inheres in those mammoth technology companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere . They posses the expertise, technology, and  financial resources to ensure the integrity of democracy administration.

Sadly, as of this date these corporate behemoths who deliver the technology and services that are weaponized against our nation have  demonstrated a complete indifference to avert this prospective disaster.

Now is the moment for those individuals who have  profited so greatly from the opportunities our nation has furnished  to repay the debt they have incurred as the result of those benefits.

I am calling upon those CEO’s who provide leadership to these entities to convene a summit of  colleagues from the relevant technology companies to devise a strategic plan to address what can be accomplished in the short term to ensure the integrity and security of the 2020 election and in the longer term for elections thereafter. This plan should address both campaigns and electioneering as well as election administration and voting.

The happy circumstance is that many of the elements to construct this model already exist and may be found in organizations  such  as the OSET Institute, The Verified Voting Foundation,  and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, and at other organizations  such as Microsoft, who have begun exhibiting  patriotic leadership in responding to these challenges. The technical capabilities and the consulting expertise of these companies can significantly reduce the various vulnerabilities to which our archaic systems of election administration are currently subject.

These technology behemoths should collaborate with these defenders of our democracy as part of their summit to develop a holistic plan that would also confront the vulnerabilities and unintended consequences their social media platforms exhibit today. This multi-faceted agenda of innovation cannot commence or succeed unless those with the capability to accomplish it provide the critical resources to do so.

In addition to the preceding efforts these companies must immediately activate a cybersecurity triage initiative as a central element of the protective shield they will deploy prior to the 2020 electoral cycle.

Should you fail to heed your country’s desperate summons and neglect to assume this imperative responsibility such inaction may well induce the failure of our grand experiment in representative democracy.  Should that catastrophic  fate befall us it will become impossible for us to recover from that cataclysmic event because in this context “fail fast” is a totally impotent antidote.

America awaits your response and fervently wishes you to demonstrate your patriotism by undertaking this monumental challenge that no other segment of our society is capable of meeting.