In this week’s SojoMail, Moya Harris writes that election season may take awhile this year, but we don't have to wait until Inauguration Day to rest: Y’all, I hate to say this, but Election Day will not be the end of our electoral uncertainty. The odds of us knowing the presidential election’s outcome when we go to sleep on Nov. 5 will be slim to none. But this isn’t because our system is broken or fragile; our system has lots of checks and balances to ensure every vote is counted — and that takes time. In many states, the margins are thin, and it will take time to count all the ballots, making it challenging for media outlets to unofficially “call” the race as they have in past years. And even if the race is unofficially called, it will take awhile for the official Electoral College process to unfold, including mechanisms to audit and (when necessary) recount ballots, then certify the results. Despite disinformation about the integrity of this process and voter suppression tactics, we should feel confident that our electoral process will stand strong. If you’re like me, you’re eager for this whole election season to end. But it’s better for our nervous systems to consider Nov. 5 the last day to cast our votes instead of the end of the election period. And here’s the good part: We don’t have to wait until it’s all over to get some rest. |
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