John,

We’re in a crucial period for our democracy. When we woke up this morning there were 30 million votes that still had not been counted. And while Joe Biden led the popular vote and the Electoral College, it was only Donald Trump who claimed (falsely) he had won.

Since this morning Biden has been declared the winner in Wisconsin, Maine, and Michigan. He is leading in Nevada and Arizona. Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina are still too close to call. We see a real path for Joe Biden to win the presidency. But first, every vote must be counted.

While members of the military, college students and others often vote absentee, we’ve believed for some time that given the pandemic there would be a huge vote by mail turnout – and as a result, election results would take longer than usual to count.

Let’s be clear: A delay in final results is a not an excuse to cast doubt on the results. A delay in final results is sign that our election system is working.

Things are trending in Joe Biden’s direction. That explains why Donald Trump is trying to cast doubt about counting the remaining ballots.

I’m a civics teacher. We teach our students that a democracy works when you count every vote. Right now we need to remind our friends and neighbors and families that basic lesson.

We can’t let disinformation and lies undermine the counting of the votes. Will you share this graphic with your friends on Facebook and your followers on Twitter?

Click here to share on Facebook.

Click here to share on Twitter

Donald Trump continues to tweet misinformation to Sow doubt. He literally lies about the votes that are being counted. Millions of Americans voted by mail, following the directions of their state elections office, with assurances that their votes would be counted. They must count those votes, even if Trump complains about the process on Twitter.

The fact is, the process is working. The American people have made their decision and Donald Trump doesn’t like the direction that the vote count is trending. But it’s not for him to decide. We the people voted and now we must finish counting those votes.

As a teacher, I think about myself as a defender of democracy. The truth is all of us have to step up to defend democracy now. In America, we count every vote. So let’s make sure we’re saying that loud and clear.

In Unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president