What we are asking
We call upon elected officials at every level of government to uphold the Constitution, the rule of law, representative democracy, equal protection, free and fair elections, peaceful transfers of power, and the fundamental human rights of every person.

We ask them to reject abuses of governmental power regardless of who commits them, which political party benefits, or who is being targeted.

And we ask Americans who share these principles to add their names to this Declaration.

Why this matters
Democracy does not usually disappear all at once.

It can be weakened one exception, one abuse of power, one ignored norm, and one surrendered right at a time.

Political disagreement is normal in a free society. Democracy requires disagreement, protest, debate, dissent, elections, compromise, and peaceful transfers of power.

Authoritarianism is something different.

It begins when those entrusted with power decide that the restraints placed upon that power no longer apply to them.

It grows when loyalty to an individual becomes more important than loyalty to law; when government institutions are turned against political opponents or critics; when vulnerable communities are used as scapegoats; when truth becomes disposable; and when people tolerate violations of rights because their own political faction benefits.

This Declaration establishes a standard that does not change depending upon who is in office.

We reject:

• Attempts to overturn, invalidate, manipulate, or unlawfully interfere with legitimate elections or peaceful transfers of power.

• Claims that political office places any person above the law.

• Government retaliation against political opponents, critics, journalists, whistleblowers, activists, or private citizens.

• Attempts to capture, intimidate, manipulate, or circumvent courts and other institutions responsible for checks and balances.

• Suppression of lawful protest, dissent, journalism, political organizing, voting, or free expression.

• The deliberate use of falsehoods and attacks on objective reality to make accountability impossible.

• Government discrimination or dehumanization based upon race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, immigration status, or other aspects of a person's humanity.

• The use of minorities, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ people, religious communities, political opponents, or other groups as scapegoats for political power.

• Unjustified governmental interference with bodily autonomy, medical decisions, family life, identity, or personal liberty.

• Political violence, intimidation, threats, or extremist movements being encouraged, excused, enabled, or legitimized by those in power.

• Public corruption, self-dealing, patronage, and the use of public office for personal enrichment.

• Attempts to undermine independent journalism or convert the press into an instrument of government propaganda.

• The treatment of public servants, members of the military, law-enforcement officers, or government employees as servants of an individual leader rather than servants of the Constitution and the people.

• Manipulation of elections, voting systems, district boundaries, governmental procedures, or institutions for the purpose of insulating those in power from democratic accountability.

• The manufacture or exploitation of emergencies, fear, prejudice, or permanent crisis to justify otherwise unacceptable governmental power.

• Political vengeance carried out through governmental authority.

• The weakening, suspension, reinterpretation, or disregard of constitutional protections simply because those protections interfere with a desired political outcome.

The standard applies to everyone
No political party receives an exemption.

No ideology receives an exemption.

No president receives an exemption.

No governor, legislator, judge, military official, law-enforcement officer, government agency, corporation, religious institution, political movement, or popular majority receives an exemption.

An abuse of power does not become acceptable because the person committing it shares our politics.

A violation of another person's rights does not become justified because we dislike the person being harmed.

If our principles apply only when our opponents hold power, they are not principles.

What we affirm
We stand for constitutional government.

We stand for representative democracy.

We stand for free and fair elections.

We stand for peaceful transfers of power.

We stand for freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to dissent.

We stand for bodily autonomy and personal liberty.

We stand for equal protection under the law.

We stand for an independent judiciary and meaningful checks and balances.

We stand for transparency and accountability from everyone entrusted with public power.

Above all, we stand for the fundamental humanity of every person.

Add your name
By signing, you are not endorsing a political party, candidate, or ideology.

You are affirming that these principles must apply regardless of who holds power.

You are declaring that no president, political party, movement, government, institution, or individual should be permitted to place itself above constitutional limits, democratic accountability, the rule of law, or the fundamental rights of others.

We pledge to one another our voices, our votes, our vigilance, our peaceful resistance, and our commitment to liberty, equality, democracy, and justice.

Not only when those principles protect us.

Not only when they protect people we agree with.

But especially when they protect those with the least power to defend themselves.

For rights that belong only to some are not rights.

A Constitution that restrains only our opponents is not a Constitution.

And a democracy defended only when our side wins is not a democracy at all.

Liberty and justice must belong to all of us, or eventually they will belong to none of us.