Election Day is finally almost upon us, and as the subsequent days unfold, we as Americans must ensure that our core values of democracy and fairness prevail: that all votes are counted, and that elections at every level of government, including the presidential election, are decided by the voters. We have a duty to ensure this happens, and the future of our nation will be better for it.
Because of COVID-19, tens of millions of Americans have voted absentee by mail, in order to protect their health. Consequently, we might not know who won the presidential election on Election Night, the way we’re used to.
That’s okay: an extended vote count means democracy is working, and we must let the counting take its course.
As I told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last week, some states—for example, Arizona, Florida and North Carolina (all three of which Trump carried last time)—count their early votes ahead of time. They won’t have every single vote counted by Election Night, but they will have the vast majority ready to report. CLC interviewed local election officials from Arizona and Florida to learn how they’re working to ensure every ballot is counted in 2020.
If these states provide a clear picture of where things are going, we could have an indication of who is projected to win early on. However, if they do not, attention will shift towards states that have not counted their absentee ballots in advance. These include competitive states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and they could have huge percentages of their ballots uncounted prior to the polls closing. In these states, we won’t know reliable results right away.
This is when calls to stop the counting of ballots could occur—President Trump has clearly signaled this will be his strategy. Arguments may break out over counting provisional ballots, as well as mail ballots that were legitimately sent before Election Day but arrived late due to mail delays.
As of right now, we don’t know for sure yet how these scenarios will pan out, but it’s critically important that every state counts their ballots in line with both their established rules and the will of the voters in mind. Voters are doing their job and turning out to vote, despite the barriers and challenges to voting safely during a pandemic. Every voter must have their voice heard.
CLC’s voting rights work this year has focused on removing barriers to safe voting options, and ensuring that every lawfully cast ballot is counted. Our fight for better ballot signature matching policies increased in urgency as the pandemic led to a surge in absentee voting.
We have just seen a big win in Pennsylvania, where the state supreme court ruled unanimously that ballots cannot be rejected solely based on perceived signature issues (though voters still must sign their ballots). This will help ensure more absentee ballots are rightfully counted. CLC has been active on this signature match issue in Pennsylvania, having represented the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh as a friend-of-the-court in this case, and having filed a previous lawsuit about signature matching in August.
As we move through Election Day and beyond, it is of profound importance for our democracy and our country that everyone’s vote is counted accurately, fairly and securely. We have successfully conducted elections during moments of great challenge in the past—including the Civil War, the Great Depression and both World Wars—and we will do it again this year. Voters decide our leaders, and the will of the voters must be heard.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process.
