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To: Executives at the Washington Post and the LA Times

Tell the Washington Post and the LA Times: Publish your endorsements of Kamala Harris!

In the past week, both the Washington Post and the LA Times decided to withdraw their endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris at the last minute.

To be clear: Both outlets reportedly were set to endorse Harris just days ago, with staff at both publications attesting to the fact that these thorough endorsements were already written, and they just needed to be published and released to the public. 

The LA Times billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly stopped the endorsement at the last second from going out. From a newspaper with influence across the country, who has been following Harris' career since 2008, to withdraw an endorsement at the last minute in the last 10 days of one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes—when the opponent is a candidate who touts "the Big Lie" about free and fair democratic elections and threatens political violence on his opponents—is not only completely unacceptable, but a disgrace to voters everywhere. 

The Washington Post followed suit just days later, with a report from the Post itself, that one of the world's richest men, billionaire Jeff Bezos stopped the Post's endorsement of Kamala Harris just as it was about to be published. 

We are less than two weeks out from an election that will decide the fate of our literal lives and futures. That is no hyperbole, this is a fight for our bodily autonomy and the freedoms of every American. Demand the LA Times and the Washington Post publish their original endorsements of Kamala Harris for President!

Why is this important?

This is more than just a lack of endorsement for VP Harris. This is about integrity, honesty and transparency with the American public. If the LA Times and The Washington Post had said in advance, a year ago, they would not endorse in the race, that would be cause for some disappointment. But that's not the case whatsoever. These articles came out within days of one another, with the same story.

Is it a coincidence that billionaires are holding back key endorsements this close to the nation's Election Day on November 5? Especially after news dropped earlier this week that another influential billionaire, Twitter/X owner Elon Musk, was planning to hand out out huge payments in battleground states as part of a get-out-the-vote drive? 

What is certain to us, is that these reports not only undermine the writers and staff who came together and took time to write these endorsements of Harris, but also have the potential to undermine and increase voter uncertainty in our democracy and in our publications. In a heightened time of misinformation and disinformation, this cannot be acceptable from publications that millions of people read and trust. 

The latest reports have Harris and Trump neck-and-neck in key states across the country. What if the information from the endorsement of both of these publications signals to millions of readers that Harris is of the same standards as Donald Trump? Or even worse, encourages them not to vote at all if the outcome will be the same?  

Sign the petition to call out this injustice for what it is and share with at least three friends. People across the country have already began to vote early, and we have less than a week and a half before November 5. There is still time to course correct.

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Updates

2024-10-29 19:19:57 -0400

20,000 signatures reached

2024-10-29 13:07:14 -0400

10,000 signatures reached

2024-10-29 12:26:41 -0400

5,000 signatures reached

2024-10-28 16:35:24 -0400

1,000 signatures reached

2024-10-28 14:16:44 -0400

500 signatures reached

2024-10-28 11:51:10 -0400

100 signatures reached

2024-10-28 11:47:07 -0400

50 signatures reached

2024-10-28 11:45:43 -0400

25 signatures reached

2024-10-27 08:03:20 -0400

10 signatures reached