Everything Election Day
Eight resources to have on hand until it’s over
It’s here. It’s Election Day.
Most importantly, I hope you’re staying calm and trusting in our democratic process. Everything — so far, knock on wood — is going fairly smoothly across the country as the years of hard work and preparation by thousands of local elections officials seems to be paying off in an efficient and well-run election.
If you, like me, have trouble just, well, chilling out… here’s a bunch of resources to read or have on hand while you wait:
When do we expect to know the result? The presidential winner will likely not be clear tonight — but exactly when we’ll know depends on the margins. Jiamin Huang and Brad Jacobson explain.
How do I find updated information on what’s happening? The National Task Force on Election Crises is a nonpartisan group of all the top election experts and organization leaders devoted exclusively to ensuring a free and fair election. Highly recommend joining their email list. Make sure you’re following Protect Democracy on whatever platforms you use. I also recommend the Election Law Blog and VoteBeat.
What happens after today? The Task Force has an excellent interactive roadmap, and our summary of the process is here.
How will Donald Trump and his allies seek to overturn the result if they lose? They plan to use a three-party strategy: deceive, disrupt, and deny. That likely starts with declaring victory tonight, regardless of what the results are. Here’s our longer, deep-dive guide on what to be prepared for.
What’s up with all these RNC lawsuits? They’re intended as “zombies,” legal footholds Trump and his allies are hoping to resurrect as pretext to throw out the result. Here are the top five ones to watch. Here’s why this legal strategy is doomed to fail.
What is this Electoral Count Reform Act I keep hearing about? It’s the new, strengthened law providing much-needed clarity on the process of casting and counting electoral votes. And it should prevent many of the subversion efforts we saw last time. Read about it here.
What should tech platforms be doing in the coming days and weeks? Here are some recommendations and high-risk dates to look out for.
Why is this so close?? Our system — and how it’s designed — gives autocrats a fighting chance pretty much every election. But democracy can overcome these disadvantages. Here’s why.
Hang in there, folks. We’re all in this together. We’ll have more for you soon.
Oh also, GO VOTE!
After Kamala wins, please focus on public financing of political campaigns at every level. Truly reclaim our democracy with 1 citizen, 1 vote… No more pay to play.
Public financing works, and will save billions/ trillions of taxpayer dollars, and enable prioritizing issues that benefit Americans not special interests of every stripe.