Call to Action
You voted, right??? Right!!! Send a last election-day text to anyone you think hasn’t voted and then take a walk, listen to music or a ghost story and if you are inclined you can phone bank on Election Day. If you get anxious take another deep breath.
Make a date to watch the results with friends (virtually); begin late in the evening. Follow the most reliable sources (see our recommendations below.) Stay away from Facebook, Twitter, and social media of all kinds.
Get a good night’s sleep. You need to be ready for whatever happens next week. Stay tuned and stay engaged.
After you have voted……
Today is the end of voting AND only the beginning of counting the vote.
No one knows how long this will take. We do know there will be a tsunami of nonsense, threats, disinformation and mistaken reporting. Our immediate task is to be patient, conserve our energies and sort the real story from the noise.
All early vote reports and exit polling are more likely to be misleading than predictive. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Mirages and Waves, Red and Blue – Voting and vote counting are done differently in each of the 50 states. Because this year Democrats are tending to vote predominately by mail and Republicans are voting mostly in person, early results will be unevenly reported. In states where mail votes are counted before election day, such as Florida and North Carolina, there will be a Blue Mirage (an early surge of Democratic votes) early in the evening followed by a Red Wave as the later reporting of Republican votes come in. In states where mail ballots cannot be processed early, expect the opposite dynamic of a Red Mirage (an early Republican surge) and a subsequent Blue Wave as mail ballots are slowly counted. The people at FiveThirtyEight, The New York Times and The Washington Post all have a clear run down of expected vote counting and reporting in each of the 50 states.
Choose one or two sources for trustworthy election results and analysis. These sources should be staffed by professional journalists who are dedicated to accurate, measured reporting placed in context. We will be following vote totals reported in the New York Times, checking in with commentary on FiveThirtyEight and following the web feed from WNYC where two of the very best media critics, Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield, will be hosting an evening of expert interviews, music, comedy, reflections and analysis. (Gladstone and Garfield have spent decades studying how the media processes big events in their vital show On the Media. We trust them to keep us company through the night.)
For your own sanity we recommend that you avoid spending much, if any, time with CNN, Fox, MSNBC and networks of all kinds. No doubt they are trying to avoid the mistakes of the past but they are in a race to call the winners – speed is the enemy of accuracy. Regardless of who you follow, start late and keep the volume low.
Be slow to jump to conclusions on election night. Don’t share reports of election troubles until you have verified them with trusted sources. Tweets and Facebook posts are NOT trusted sources. If there is a crisis, it won’t be resolved election night. Stay grounded so that we can all respond with an effective strategy if the need arises. You’ll hear from us if that happens!
Finally, Our Thanks!
It seems like a good moment to reflect on the past four years. MWR has been our collective effort to respond to these difficult times. It has been an honor to have you read our thoughts and respond to the Call to Action. Thanks for working with us to resist and protect democracy!