It’s been a year. And a month. And a week. And a day. It feels like so much of 2020 was spent talking, thinking, and stressing about this election. And now November 3 has come and gone. While state and local leaders undertake the painstaking task of counting all of the votes, it’s clear that emotions are raging on all sides of the political spectrum.  

Our country is divided—it has been for a long time. But no matter the final results, we WILL get through this. You're okay. We're okay. I know there's a lot of uncertainty and fear at this moment, but it's nothing we can't endure together. Nothing has ever been too much for us to handle collectively. I want to offer some support for YOU as YOU, and then some resources for how you can talk about what’s going on with others.

First up: YOU. In times like these, I lean upon the words of those before us who endured incredible hardship. All week on my social channels I’m sharing quotes from leaders like Nelson Mandela and Elie Wiesel. I’ll also be sharing this music video—that I hope lifts your spirits in the same way it lifted mine. Like Kamala said, we have a light at the end of the tunnel. We'll get there. I also want to share this quote from Maya Angelou just to you, my newsletter reader, because it feels especially poignant in a time of divide in our country. 

I hope that now more than ever, we can come together as humans and hold space for each other to feel whatever we’re feeling. I’ll be doing this tomorrow and Friday over Zoom from 12 - 3PM PST during my impromptu office hours. You can drop in any time you want—the space is yours. If you feel the need to share, listen, support, or just be in community, please come and be with me and stay for as long as you’d like. 

Next up: HOW TO DISCUSS THIS WITH OTHERS. Whether in person or on social media, you’re talking with folks about this election, am I right? I encourage you to read this wonderful “messaging” guide prepared by the Voting Rights Lab which offers language that narrates to the victory that seems in hand, and to a peaceful transfer of power. (And just as importantly it offers what not to say, and why.) It makes clear that we must speak in a confident and determined tone. Here are a few examples of the guidance you’ll find in this doc, but please do read the whole thing because it will nourish and strengthen you, and it will support you in talking about the election with others:

• During the period where ballots are still being counted amidst the expected false claims and attempts to sow distrust but not yet outright attempts to impede the process, we want to 1) lead with a core value tied to our demand to count every vote; 2) reinforce trust in our local election officials to do their job; 3) discuss the scale of our turnout and also lifting up the realities of voter suppression; and 4) return to core values, this time both democracy and unity:
  • For democracy to work for all of us, every eligible voter must have our voices heard and our votes counted. As we expected, it is taking longer to count our votes and verify a winner in this year’s election. Our elections include 51 separate counts across states and DC – each administered by qualified officials who take their job of counting eligible votes seriously. By tracking from start to finish and verifying the identity of each ballot, certified election officials ensure that each voter casts one ballot and that every eligible vote is counted accurately. Despite the pandemic and deliberate barriers from day-long lines to attempts to eliminate drop off locations, voters have done our job and turned out in record numbers. And now our election officials are doing theirs, as they have in every previous election. By uniting across our differences, we can uphold our democracy by ensuring every vote is counted and demanding that the person who we have chosen is sworn in as our president.
• If Trump tries to undermine the outcome by making wild claims about “rigging” and “fraud.” In the event of a contested election, we recommend 1) leading with the core democratic value that we the people pick our leaders; 2) reinforcing trust in local election officials; 3) dismissing Trump’s claims and enforcing the will of the people as the decision makers; 4) shifting the conversation to looking ahead and tackling the challenges we face:
  • The basis of American democracy is that we pick our leaders – our leaders do not pick their voters. Election officials have been preparing for our elections all year, counted every vote, verified the results, and followed every law used in every election. Any politician can say whatever they want to, but it’s the will of the voters that decides. Now, we must uphold the democratic transfer of power as we have since our founding. Voters have made our voices heard and selected Joe Biden to tackle challenges we face, from COVID to record unemployment to ensuring all of us can get the care we need. Independent election experts have validated these results. Regardless of who you voted for, it’s time we come together and to tackle the very real issues our country faces.

We’re in the thick of it right now, and whew, it’s a lot! Don’t forget that I’m here for you. If you want to hang out, join me tomorrow and/or Friday on Zoom.

xo,