Early this morning, Donald Trump declared victory prematurely in the presidential election, despite the outcome remaining unclear as votes in many key battleground states remained (and for the most part still remain) uncounted. Trump is attempting to disrupt the counting of the remaining votes, calling it a “major fraud” and declaring his intention to challenge the results before the conservative-led Supreme Court. Where Trump has done his best to sow confusion around the legitimacy of this election, our demand is simple: count every vote.
Trump spent the last weeks of his campaign doing his best to muddy the electoral waters. He has cast doubt on mail-in voting, sabotaged the US Postal Service through budget cuts and inept leadership, demanded that all votes be counted by November 3 in spite of the reality that ballots are rarely completely counted on Election Day, and stacked the Supreme Court with yet another right wing extremist who would be a key ally in an election-deciding vote.
We refuse to follow his lead. Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America refuses to accept the results of this election until every vote has been counted and calls on allies and comrades to join in disrupting any attempt to subvert the will of the people. Through the Muslim ban in 2017, the Trump era began with mass protests forcing the administration to back down; let’s put an end to it the same way.
The last four years have brought wanton suffering and violence upon millions. We cannot allow Republicans to circumvent the most basic tenet of elections – that every vote is counted – in order to maintain their minority rule. We can fight back, and we will be stronger when we fight together.
Please join us and our allies in the Defend Democracy Alliance at the Defend the Vote Rally happening today at 5:30 pm at the Capitol.