Brennan Center for Justice Michael Waldman gave the most compelling message for deconstructing how we should message vote-by-mail and voting to all.
Vote-By-Mail message to heed
Donald Trump and his cabal are trying to prepare his folks for his significant loss. Unfortunately, he is doing so by claiming it will be because of voter fraud, likely vote-by-mail.
In the face of contradictory messages coming from members of his own party, members of the U.S. intelligence community, and even a member of his own family, President Trump continues his months-long campaign against efforts to expand voting by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The fraud and abuse will be an embarrassment to our Country,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
On Monday, he claimed without evidence that mail ballots may purposely be manipulated to be sent to Democratic areas and not Republican areas. And on Sunday, he decried a system of ballot return that the federal government calls “secure and convenient” in official documents.
Brennan Center for Justice Michael Waldman gave the 90-second narrative we should all have rolling off our tongues in some form. He starts by letting us know we are in control irrespective of the headwinds by those who would coopt Democracy.
“The best way for anybody to guarantee that their vote counts are this year,” Michael Waldman said. “It’s an unusual year, vote early, whether you vote by mail early, whether you vote in-person early, whether you use drop boxes, which is actually how most people who vote by mail vote. And that is something we as citizens can do.”
He makes it clear that the lack of money because of the inter-party fights is a problem. But of course, we can pressure our politicians.
“States need money,” Waldman continued. “Congress passed some, but it’s all locked up in the negotiations over the stimulus. More money will help states count the ballots better. The private sector can step in.”
He then acknowledges that we must realize that all votes do count and that the president is lying.
“But I do think that you’ve hit on something else, which is all of us need to understand that every vote should count, whether it’s voted by mail or voted in person,” Waldman asserted. “Every vote should count. And this idea that there’s something wrong with vote-by-mail in the middle of a pandemic, that’s not a charge, that’s a lie. And that is a — It’s extraordinary to have the president of the United States going out of his way to try to undermine faith in American democracy in the middle of a crisis like this.”
Waldman then tells Americans not to be concerned that the vote counts will not be in as fast as we are used to in the past. But that in time, the counters will do so correctly.
“So, you know, we all need to be patient and understand, as you’ve said, it’s not going to be Election Night,” Waldman said. “We’re not going to have the announcement at 11:00 on the east coast, probably, the way we have other years. But that doesn’t mean there’s a problem. It just means people are carefully counting the votes.”
Please vote no matter what. If you can vote in-person early, that is the preferred way to do it as you can find out if there is a problem before it is too late. If you must vote-by-mail, do so. Then return the ballot in a drop-box or directly to the county office as soon as possible. If you must use the postal service, put it in the mail as a last resort but do so immediately upon receiving and filling out the ballot.
Trump runs the executive. He can make voting more stressful and challenging, but he cannot stop most of us from voting. Make him pay the price for attempting to subvert Democracy. Please share this widely!!!