Everyday Election Activism

An Insider's Guide #7 - November 4, 2024

What are you doing tomorrow night?

I'm having a few friends over. I’m being bold. I'm calling it a party (we have every reason to be optimistic!), not just a gathering (too neutral-sounding).

What I’ve been reading gives me high hopes and realistic expectations of victory. Have you been paying attention to Michael Moore? Rachel Bitecofer? Simon Rosenberg? Did you hear about the most recent poll in Iowa, with Harris ahead (yes, Iowa!)? It seems that even the Harris campaign is starting to feel bullish. More and more articles in the Post and Times are saying that the neck-in-neck polling is probably hiding a not-so-close election.

I think we can do this! Just two more days of GOTV and then another push to make sure all votes are counted and to help voters with ‘curable’ errors on their provisional or mail-in ballots. The end is in sight. Our efforts are paying off! I believe democracy will hold once more and become all the stronger for being tested.

So yes, I’m stressed and scared. And yes, I can’t wait for this to be over (whenever that is, and whatever we have to go through to get there). But at the same time there’s no reason to dwell on all the doomsday scenarios about what could happen if the wrong one is elected or tries to overthrow the results. We all have those dark thoughts, but let’s not give them too much real estate in our heads.

I know some of you tend to stay pessimistic (it's a Democrat quirk) even as you hope to be pleasantly surprised by victory, but I’m in the camp of being realistically optimistic and figuring out later what I will do if I'm wrong. The forces of democracy have been preparing for all eventualities for years now. Let us balance our fears against trust in the bulwarks in place to protect us.

I hope you connect to at least one other person tomorrow evening. If you want to mix with a larger group, there are a zillion in-person and online watch parties. The Democratic Party and every other organization or group of volunteers that has worked on this election are holding watch parties. We won’t know results for a while, certainly not at my east coast Election Night party, so I hope also that you make good use of tomorrow evening to enjoy yourselves and catch up with one another’s lives. Remember what is important in your life and share it with others. Think of Election Night as an occasion to get together and be thankful we have made it this far. We have all been in this together for a long time, and we still need one another. Distraction is good, but connecting is the best!