Friend,

Our nation is in the midst of four crises—a health pandemic, an economic crisis, a reckoning with racism and a climate emergency—all made worse by President Trump. Now, Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are ignoring their obligations to pass a meaningful COVID-19 relief bill for millions of working Americans. Instead, they’re spending their time ramming through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, when the public—and precedent—calls for waiting until the next president takes office. This is a lifetime appointment that will have dangerous consequences for generations, starting with the potential to lose healthcare protections, as Barrett has made no secret of her antipathy for the Affordable Care Act.

On top of that, Trump is putting the existence of our democracy on the line—giving us a fifth crisis to deal with—by threatening to uproot the peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election in November. Trump sees the presidency as his to own, not as a position elected by “we the people.”

Trump is not concerned about what working families need. He will do everything he can to stay in power. We must win this election—and win overwhelmingly—to maintain our democracy and decisively end Trump’s presidency. But to do that, we must vote.

You can find more information about voting in Washington, D.C. by visiting your state board of elections website here. Here are the deadlines we found on that site, so you can mark your calendar and get ready to vote.

• You must register to vote by: 10/13
  • Same day registration is available
• If you plan to vote by mail, you must request a ballot by: N/A
  • From the state website: “The Board is mailing every registered voter a ballot for the November 3, 2020 General Election.”

For more information, and to find out whether your state has early voting dates available, visit your state’s board of elections website here.

Elections are always about choices, but this one is the most consequential of our lives. It’s about who will help ensure everyone has a path toward a better life, and who will save our democracy. We can’t sit on the sidelines. We must vote.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president

Paid for by AFT Solidarity, www.aft.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.