Dear John,

Repeat after me: It’s OK.

Breathe, and then let’s say it again.

We knew the election wasn’t going to be decided last night. We were prepared for it. But I get it—feeling unsteady as the results of an election roll in can be uncomfortable. That feeling is our democracy working. It’s the wheels in motion to count every vote, to go through the process, and to remind us all that this country was built for the people—and this is our time. While we wait, we can still recognize some important wins last night:

• Sarah McBride is set to become the first transgender state senator in U.S. history.
• Colorado voters rejected a 22-week ban on abortion and said yes to expanded paid leave.
• A new generation of Black progressives was elected to Congress.
• The four Congresswomen of ‘the Squad’ won re-election.
• In Multnomah County, Oregon, voters approved universal child care.

It’s hard to sit and wait, but there are things you can do right now!

• If you mailed in or dropped off a ballot, check your ballot’s status to make sure your vote has been counted!
• It’s also important right now to remind everyone that our election is not over because the votes are still being counted. Please help spread the word by sharing that message on your networks at this critical moment.

I know that the last four years have been intense, and this country is exhausted. We’ve dealt with Muslim bans, family separation, attacks on our trans family, constant hits to our reproductive freedoms, and a global pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 in the United States and was so mismanaged it brought our economy to its knees. And through it all, our elected majority put out policy after policy that blatantly emboldened racism and misogyny.

But over and over, we have shown up. We fought to protect our health care and our access to abortion. We guarded the freedoms of LGBTQ+ communities and took to the streets in defense of Black lives. And we will show up again. It is in my DNA and it’s in the very ethos of the Law Center. We will fight for every vote. For the ability of every single child to be safe and to thrive. For communities to be secure and to be included in our democracy. For workers to be treated equally and paid fairly. To excavate out from the rubble of this administration, and to truly build a more perfect union for all of us.

Keep breathing. We got this.

Fatima Goss Graves
(she/her/hers)
President & CEO
National Women's Law Center