(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial has been appointed to the American Bar Association’s new Task Force for American Democracy to look at ways to improve public trust in our election system. 

“American democracy and the rule of law are under threat like never before,” Morial said. “Extremists who cannot impose their radical agenda through free and fair elections are resorting to authoritarian tactics that go beyond even voter suppression.  We who have been admitted to the bar have sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.” 

The task force is co-chaired by former Judge J. Michael Luttig, who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit from 1991 to 2006, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Charles Johnson (2013-2017). The members of the task force include thought leaders, lawyers, former elected officials and business leaders, among others, who represent a bipartisan group of recognized national leaders with expertise in American government, democracy and the rule of law. 

The focus of the task force will be in three areas: 

• Depoliticizing the administration of elections 
• Educating the public on the principles of our democracy and driving ownership of those principles into the American culture 
• Identifying and advancing improvements and innovations in our systems of elections that will address the root causes of the current politicization and lack of trust in our elections and in our democracy. 

To accomplish its mission, the task force will host listening tours and public conversations, as well as one-on-one and smaller discussions, with a broad spectrum of Americans to hear their concerns, experiences and suggestions for restoring and preserving our democracy. 

In a recent Pew study, 51% of Americans said they are dissatisfied with how democracy is working and 46% said they are open to other forms of government, including rule by a strong leader. 

• Less than one-third of millennials consider it essential to live in a democracy. 
• According to a 2022 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, just 25% of U.S. adults can name only one of the three branches of government and more than 20% cannot name any branch of government. 
• The U.S was recently ranked the 36th most democratic nation in the world by Universitat Wurzberg’s Democracy Matrix. 

The task force’s website is ambar.org/democracy and a full list of task force members can be found here.