Get voting
Ready for the final #noregretsnovember push?
The past few months haven’t been easy—but if you’ve made it this far, it’s because you’re passionate about making a better America. And the next few days will determine whether that becomes a reality or not.
So no giving up now. No feeling like the polls are looking good, or the turnout is looking big, or the enthusiasm is on our side. Instead of coasting, let’s put our all into the next three days.
Think of this as the final mile of a marathon: You’ve been going steady for a while now, and this is where you kick things up a notch and sprint through the finish line.
This guide is going to help you finish up strong—but then, we know that the election might not be decided on November 3. (Or November 4 even, for that matter…)
So we’re also going to prepare for what we’ll need to do after the polls close—and if the will of people is not accepted. (More on that in a sec.)
what you can do now through november 3
1) Vote, Duh
If you haven’t voted yet, make sure you have your voting plan in place. Make sure you’ve got an ID (if your state requires one). Make sure you’ve got a mask and water/snacks/reading material in case the line is long. And if you have any issues voting, call the Voter Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
Were you planning on voting by mail? Sorry, but at this point you can’t trust that your ballot will arrive in time; either vote in-person on election day, or (depending on your state’s law) drop it off at your poll site, a secure ballot drop box, or at the Board of Elections office.
(Not sure about your state’s voting rules? Look them up at your county’s Board of Elections website, or head to nbcnews.com/planyourvote for a straightforward guide to each state’s voting rules. And don’t forget to check out the Rally+Rise voter guide for more important-to-know info on getting to the polls this year.)
Already voted by mail? If your state has ballot tracking, make sure you confirm that your mail-in ballot was both received and accepted; if it wasn’t, in many states you have the opportunity to either fix whatever was wrong with your ballot or vote in person.
2) take action to get out the vote
We can’t take a single vote for granted. That’s why, in the final days of the election, it’s vital that we do everything we can to make sure that as many people as possible vote.
Here’s the good news: There are many different ways to help with the get out the vote (aka GOTV) effort. We’re outlining four different options—can you commit to taking one of these actions each day between now and November 3?
That might sound like a lot, but remember: No regrets.
FRIENDBANK
We know that staying at home is, in effect, a vote for Donald Trump.
We also know that there is nothing more impactful for potential voters than being contacted by someone they know.
So between now and Election Day, reach out to three friends who are on the fence about voting and talk to them about making it happen.
Maybe it’s focusing on a down-ballot race featuring a progressive candidate who they’d actually be excited to vote for; maybe it’s sending them a video of Bernie Sanders explaining why it’s vital for his supporters to vote for Biden/Harris this year. You know better than anyone else what will motivate them to actually vote.
(For more info and advice on friendbanking—including apps that make it easy to target friends who regularly flake out on voting—turn to page 12 of our October #NoRegretsNovember workbook.)
PHONEBANK
In the final days of a campaign, phonebanking is focused almost entirely on GOTV. That means you won’t be tasked with persuading voters to support a candidate; instead, you’ll just be calling people who have already said they’re supporting your candidate and making sure that they have a voting plan in place. Because every. single. vote. matters this election—and we can’t afford to lose the votes of people who we know support our causes and candidates.
There will also be some phonebanking to help voters in swing states “cure” their ballots—they voted by mail but there was an issue with their ballot, so they’re given the opportunity to fix it. Unfortunately, the process for curing a ballot can be complicated, and many voters don’t even realize there’s an issue until it’s too late. That’s what makes phonebanking voters who need to cure their ballots so important.
We’ve listed phonebank options for both GOTV and ballot curing our Events page—pick the one you’re most excited about, and then sign up for a few shifts. Or, if there’s a specific candidate you want to help out, look up their phonebank options on mobilize.us.
(Feeling a little nervous about phonebanking? Turn to page 8 of our October #NoRegretsNovember workbook for a full rundown on what it is and why it’s so important.)
CANVASS
In the final days of the election, canvassing is sometimes the last chance to connect with key voters—either people who haven’t voted yet but have already said they support a candidate, or people whose absentee ballots were rejected and need to be cured. (In many cases, the Board of Elections only has an address on file for a person—which means that visiting them in person is the only way to let them know that there’s an issue with their ballot and they need to fix it urgently, FYI.)
So if you a) live in a swing state or swing district, b) are healthy and not immunocompromised, and c) have a car or are in a walkable city, canvassing might be the thing for you. Don’t forget to bring a mask (always) and hand sanitizer (ditto), and only do what you consider to be safe for yourself and your neighbors.
To find opportunities near you, search “canvasses” or “literature drop-offs” on mobilize.us.
(For more deets in canvassing in the middle of a pandemic, go to page 10 of our October #NoRegretsNovember workbook.)
POLL MONITOR
From voting machine malfunctions to voter intimidation, a lot could come up on Election Day. Volunteer with Protect the Vote to work as a poll monitor—either IRL or remotely, if it’s not safe for you to leave your house.
3) shift your “election night” expectations
We traditionally think of election day as the day we both vote and get voting results—but TBH that’s a bit of a lie. As we’ve all come to realize, “election day” spans many weeks, from the moment absentee ballots are mailed out until the last state deadline to receive them. (In New Jersey, for example, the Board of Elections is giving mail-in ballots postmarked by November 3 a full week to arrive.)
So really, it’s more like we stop voting on November 3, but the election—and the counting of those votes—doesn’t end then.
This isn’t some new rule made in the midst of the pandemic: The deadline to finish counting votes ranges from November 5 to December 8 (yes, really), depending on the state. The Electoral College doesn’t vote until December 14. Congress doesn’t certify the Electoral College vote until January 6.
In fact, in the 20th century only two Presidential elections have been called on election night. (That would be both of Obama’s wins—2004 and 2016 were called the day after, and 2000 wasn’t called until December!)
What has changed things this year is the fact that there are so many more mail-in votes to count. Especially in states like New York that don’t even begin counting their absentee ballots until polls close on election night, the increase in people voting by mail could mean that it might take days—or even weeks—for them to count all of the votes.
So: With many races, don’t expect to know who won the night of the election. (And don’t let anyone convince you that this is abnormal—what’s abnormal is ignoring hundreds of thousands of votes, just because they couldn’t all be counted by November 3.)
Another thing you should know going into election night: Depending on whether a state counts mail-in ballots or in-person ballots first, it may have what’s been dubbed a “red mirage” or “blue mirage.” This just means that the initial poll numbers released on election night may not accurately reflect the final result, and might lead you to incorrectly extrapolate that your candidate is way ahead and “should win” (or is way behind and “can’t win”).
A RED MIRAGE EXAMPLE:
Pennsylvania doesn’t process absentee ballots before election day, so the initial results the state releases that evening will likely come from ballots cast in-person (which is expected to favor Trump/Republicans); but as they continue tallying mail-in ballots over the days that follow, the statewide vote could shift towards Biden/Democrats. So that’s a “red mirage,” because on election night it might appear as if Trump handily won the state.
A BLUE MIRAGE EXAMPLE:
North Carolina started processing mail-in ballots weeks ago, so the initial results the state releases that evening will likely be large batches of absentee ballots and in-person early votes (which is expected to favor Biden/Democrats); but as the night continues they’ll be adding election day votes, which could shift the statewide vote towards Trump/Republicans. So that’s a “blue mirage,” because on election night it might appear as if Biden handily won the state.
Why does this matter? It’s important to set your expectations accordingly—and to not fall into the trap of calling a state for one candidate or another before all of the votes have been counted. 538 has a great cheat sheet explaining when we can expect results for each state, and which way the results might shift as more votes are counted.
4) SHARE CORRECT INFO ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Remember: Bots and bad actors spreading misinformation is nothing new, but with an election as important as this one—and a high likelihood that we will not know the outcome on election night, as mail-in ballots take time to be counted—it is very likely that there will be a lot of it happening.
And that’s a huge problem. Why? False stories about long lines, voter intimidation, or violence could deter potential voters from going to the polls. False stories about voters being turned away from the polls, having their votes “changed” onscreen, or declaring someone a winner before all the votes have been counted could undermine people’s faith in the electoral system.
We need both—people feeling like they can safely go to the polls, and faith in the system—in order to win this election.
That’s not to say that these things won’t happen—but it’s crucial, in this age of social media, that we become smart “influencers” within our own networks and don’t retweet, regram, or amplify stories that could actually be disinformation that is meant to hurt our cause.
When in doubt, check the source of the story—if it’s not a reputable news source (your BFF’s Instagram Stories doesn’t count, sorry!), then hold off sharing it. And don’t be afraid to let your friends know they’re sharing inaccurate or misleading information when you see it.
Here are a few things to think twice about before posting:
Instances of election fraud: Every election there’s some story floating around about someone’s vote being changed from one candidate to another. (“A friend of a friend says that someone at their polling site claimed that…”) Don’t repost these stories unless you can directly confirm what they claim happened, or a reliable news source has confirmed that it happened. Why? Election fraud is actually quite rare. But by spreading rumors about things like changing votes, we’re undermining the system and people’s trust in the process. Trump has already done that, let’s not join in if we can’t confirm the veracity of a claim. If you do see something concerning, call the Voter Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
Instances of voter intimidation: Is the idea of an armed militia surrounding a poll site terrifying? Yes. That’s why we should not be reposting claims that this has happened, unless (again) you saw it firsthand or a reputable news source has confirmed it—because it might cause someone who planned on voting at that poll site to stay home out of fear, even if the “threat” was just a rumor. You, in effect, create the voter intimidation yourself by reposting these things. If you do see something, call the Voter Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
Incomplete results: Remember that whole election night red mirage/blue mirage thing we were just talking about? It’s going to create some misleading results in certain states—including several key swing states. If you’re posting results in real time, make it clear what votes are included in that tally (mail-in ballots, in-person ballots, election day ballots, etc.). OR! Just wait until the race has officially been called. We don’t want to give people the impression that Candidate A was originally the winner, but then Candidate B “stole” the election from them, if what really happened was just that Candidate A was ahead before all of the votes were counted.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AFTER ELECTION DAY
It’s going to be tempting to sleep in on November 4 and pretend like election season is over. But we’re all gonna have to pitch in for a bit longer to ensure that this is truly a #NoRegretsNovember.
One of the most pressing issues will be helping voters to cure their ballots. In many states—including key swing states—people can still cure their ballots after election day. (In North Carolina, for example, they have until November 12 to get all of the necessary paperwork back to the Board of Elections in order to have their vote counted.)
We’ve got a list of ballot cure phonebank opportunities on our Events page—if you live in the state and are able to canvass, reach out the organizers directly and let them know!
WHAT YOU CAN DO IF THE ELECTION RESULTS ARE CHALLENGED BY REPUBLICANS
This is absolutely the worst-case scenario—and, judging by literally everything that Trump has said so far and recent rulings made the (now extremely conservative) Supreme Court, a real possibility.
Let’s be blunt: Any attempt to throw out votes, undermine the law, or ignore the will of the people is a coup. Period. We need to treat it as such.
This will require more than just exasperated tweets and frown face emojis—judging by what other countries have done to successfully stop coups from taking place, we will need massive citizen mobilization.
As in: All of us—as Liza Featherstone wrote in The Nation, “A coup must be stopped by the mainstream of society. Defeating it requires mass participation in the streets—not just the leftists who always show up—and winning over the institutional pillars of society: politicians, businesspeople, the military, and others.”
Protect The Vote has brought together a network of partners (from Black Lives Matter to Sunrise Movement) who are prepared to take action if people’s votes are at risk. Sign up to be notified of actions they’re organizing.
Choose Democracy is another organization that’s mobilizing around protecting the election results and countering a potential coup—and they’ve got trainings happening all week for anyone who wants to be prepared on how to take meaningful action.
If you want to prepare, Hold The Line produced a 55-page manual to what will need to be done if you want to defend democracy.
We hope it doesn’t come to this—but we haven’t worked this hard for months to just roll over when our democracy is threatened.
PS: DON’T FORGET TO CHECK IN WITH YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY
Say hi on the night before the election. Remind them to drink water on election day. Check in with them the day after the election. We’re only as strong as our support systems—and you both have made it this far, so make sure you figure out a way to celebrate all of your hard work, too.