Democratic Party of Illinois 111 West Washington Street, Suite 902 Chicago, IL 60602 November 13, 2020 Ms. Emily Murphy Administrator General Services Administration 1800 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20405 Dear Administrator Murphy: As Electors from the State of Illinois to the Electoral College, we are writing to urge you to ascertain Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris as the President-elect and Vice President-elect respectively and to immediately begin the post-election transition process. As you are aware, pursuant to the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, the Administrator of the General Services Administration must sign a letter to determine, or “ascertain,” the “apparent winner” of the Presidential election and thus release resources to the incoming administration to enable a successful transition. The election has been independently called for Vice President Biden and Senator Harris and the nation must continue to move forward. As the nonpartisan Center for Presidential Transition recently wrote in an open letter, “While there will be legal disputes requiring adjudication, the outcome is sufficiently clear that the transition process must now begin…. We urge the Trump administration to immediately begin the post-election transition process and the Biden team to take full advantage of the resources available under the Presidential Transition Act.” The letter was signed by Democratic and Republican experts in transitions, including Josh Bolten, Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush; the Honorable Mike Leavitt, former Governor of Utah; Thomas (Mack) McLarty, Chief of Staff to President William Clinton; and Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce to President Barack Obama. It has been reported you may delay ascertainment until the Electoral College meets and votes on December 14. As Electors to the Electoral College, we believe this delay is unnecessary, unprecedented and dangerous. 1 America’s integrity depends on the federal government showing explicitly and swiftly that the United States government respects the will of the American people and engages in the methodical and peaceful transfer of power without exception. The voters have spoken and America must move forward, as it always has with transition planning. Since the Presidential Transition Act was signed in 1963, your office has identified the winner within hours or a day of media projections, and weeks before the results were made official by the Electoral College. Further, a Presidential transition is an extraordinary operation requiring discipline, decisiveness and quick learning under the best of circumstances. "Every day counts in a transition, this year more than any transition since 1932,” said David Marchick, the director of the Center for Presidential Transition. We urge you to immediately sign the letter of ascertainment as required by law to acknowledge Vice President Joe Biden is the President-elect and Senator Kamala Harris is the Vice President-elect. Our best wishes. Hon. Michael Cabonargi Hon. Al Riley Hon. Omar Aquino Hon. Nancy Shepherdson Hon. Vera Davis Hon. Michael Cudzik Hon. Lauren Beth Gash Hon. Julia Kennedy Beckman Hon. Jerry Costello Hon. Jayne Mazzotti Hon. Kristina Zahorik Hon. Christine Benson Hon. Sheila Stocks-Smith Hon. Lori Lightfoot Hon. Don Harmon 2 .