Dear John,

It is no understatement to say it feels like the fate of our country (and honestly, our planet too) is on the line this week. The most important election of our lifetimes is well underway, and it is unlike any other. We have an authoritarian President blatantly working to undermine the results of the election, a GOP that pushed through a Supreme Court nomination in record time to side with them if the election goes to the courts, and a deadly pandemic adding new barriers to voting and new challenges for ballot counting.

A big part of our anxiety comes from the uncertainty. Will Trump concede in the face of a decisive Biden victory, or will he rally his supporters to undermine the legitimacy of the election? Will the results be close, allowing for days, weeks, or even months of waiting for the final count? We can endlessly refresh the polls. But the truth is that we just don't know.

But there are a few things we do know that are important to keep in mind:

We have 6 days left to Get Out the Vote. Text your friends and family, especially those in swing states. Join us tonight for our final weekly phonebank – this time for Jaime Harrison in South Carolina. And check out this excellent calendar of recommended GOTV events throughout this weekend, organized by friends and partners (with big thanks to our team for compiling it).
There will be (and has, of course, long already been) voter suppression. We’ve already seen long lines, threatened ballot drop boxes, voter intimidation at the polls, and aggressive efforts to reject absentee ballots cast in good faith. Join Election Defenders to help ensure that everyone has access to the polls.
The Election Night tallies will not tell the whole story. With so many more people voting by mail this year due to the pandemic, and rules in some states (including New York) that do not allow for counting of mail in ballots until election day or after, the vote totals we see on Election Day will not be final. President Trump may claim on election night that he won. It will be up to all of us to dispel that falsehood and spread the message that we need to wait for the full results. Watch this video for a quick refresher on which states to watch and when to expect results.
We must Protect the Results. A national coalition of organizations is preparing to take to the streets and put pressure on state decision makers who have a role to play in the electoral college process in key states if Trump refuses to accept the results of the election. Sign up to get updates from Protect the Results (and we’ll be sharing opportunities to take action as needed in the coming weeks too).
In any outcome, we must keep organizing. More on this below, but in short, join us on Thursday, November 5 at 6 PM to debrief and start planning for what comes next.

Earlier this year, a group of bipartisan election experts and political strategists mapped out several possible ways that things could go after November 3rd. The Transition Integrity Project’s results were worrisome, with nearly every scenario other than a Biden blowout leading to some amount of instability, conflict, or even physical violence. The prospect of Trump refusing to concede and pushing forward with efforts to challenge Biden’s win in the electoral college process is entirely possible, and extremely dangerous.

Chris Hayes’s interview with elections expert Edward Foley does a good job of explaining the steps in that process (including a meeting of electors in December, a vote of the new Congress in January) and how that might play out with multiple candidates claiming victory. That hasn’t happened since the election of 1876, which offers a sobering example of what is at stake now. In the 1876 election both Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden claimed victory and state legislators supportive of Tilden sent a rival set of electors to the electoral college. The conflict went on until almost Inauguration Day, only resolved when Tilden agreed to concede in exchange for the withdrawal of the federal troops who had been enforcing racial equality in the South, ending Reconstruction and setting the stage for another 85+ years of second class status for Black people in the South. We know, too well, that elections -- including what happens after the voters are cast -- really do have consequences.

We also know that a Trump reelection victory is a direct threat to the lives of millions, as the pandemic surges on, the window to mitigate climate disaster closes, and racialized violence at the hands of vigilantes, law enforcement, or federal policy continues on. But the chaos of an unresolved or contested election for weeks or even months is deeply dangerous too. Here is a good overview of various post election scenarios and organizations to plug in to.

No matter what happens, we will come together to process, take care of each other, and get organized for whatever needs to happen next.

After the 2016 election, thousands of us came together to create Get Organized BK to mobilize against attacks on women, immigrants and others under the Trump administration. However this election goes, we will need to keep organizing with others who share a vision of fundamental equality, human rights, and genuine democracy.

If the election is close and uncertain, we will need to organize to protect the results. If (I don’t even want to say it) Trump wins an electoral college majority despite a massive popular vote loss, we will be called upon to elevate to a new level of civil resistance. And if, as we so urgently hope, Biden wins and Democrats take control of the Senate, then we will need to work with grassroots groups, progressive labor unions, and millions around the country to put pressure on a Biden administration to abolish the filibuster and enact a bold progressive agenda. (Our friend and neighbor Bob Master wrote a great article in Dissent on what history teaches about what that could look like).

RSVP now to join us for a post-election debrief and organizing meeting on Thursday November 5 at 6 PM. Whatever the outcome, we’ll process together and start getting ready for the organizing we’ll need to do next (along with some visionary organizers and leaders). We will take care of each other and continue the fight for a more just future.

Sending strength to you and yours as this last week of the election season wraps up. We’re going to need it.

Brad