| Dear, We’re just three days from November 3, and we need to talk about what that night will look like. In any other year, we’d all be glued to the news on Voting Day, waiting for election returns to tell us who our next leaders will be. And it’s almost certain that Donald Trump and other candidates will try to declare victory that night. But this isn’t any other year. Across the country, 70 million voters -- more than 60% -- are projected to vote by mail, more than double the number of any other year.(1) Hundreds of lawsuits are winding their way through the system to determine how and if those ballots will be counted.(2) Several states do not allow for counting ballots before Voting Day, and even those that do -- like California -- are going to be counting for days after.(3) In these turbulent times, we need to spread one message: Democracy is worth the wait. For the first time ever this year, every registered voter in California received a vote-from-home ballot to mail in or return in a ballot box or polling place. That’s more than 20 million ballots to process. But just five days before the election, only 8.5 million have been turned in.(4) In 2018, 250,000 ballots were dropped off on Voting Day in Orange County alone.(5) It took nearly three weeks after to count every single ballot in California, and in the end, dozens of congressional seats, state legislators, and downballot races were called for people other than who was in the lead on Voting Day.(6) At this point, we’re not certain of which ballots will actually be counted. The Supreme Court, which has a 6–3 Trump majority, is deciding cases every day concerning deadline extensions for mail-in ballots, signature matches for certifying ballots, and more. In the last few days, North Carolina and Pennsylvania voters learned that their mail-in ballots sent by Voting Day will be counted if they’re received after, but Wisconsin voters don’t have the same privilege.(7) In California, the attorney general has sued over unauthorized ballot boxes.(8) This all adds up to one truth: Any race called on Voting Day will not have every ballot counted -- and EVERYONE’S voice should be heard. We know that the minute the polls close, any candidate with an in-person polling advantage -- including Donald Trump -- will try to declare victory, and then will spread disinformation about any ballots counted after. We need to be ready to fight. Spread the word that democracy is worth the wait. Yours in the fight for our democracy, Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Gabby, Jay, Lindsay, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team) Footnotes:  |
|
Like what we do? Chip in to help fund the fight for a more progressive nation. Or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
 |