Election Day is tomorrow, Nov. 8. The polls are open across New York City from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you did not cast a ballot during the early voting period that ended Sunday, you owe it to yourself, your family and your city to do so Tuesday.
We said last week that democracy is the most critical issue on the ballot this year. We reiterate that democracy matters more than anything else — more than inflation, crime and job rates combined — and that you, the voter, hold the key as to whether we will allow democracy to prevail, or let it to fall into the hands of right-wing election deniers and their sympathizers.
These members of the MAGA movement tried in 2020 to give a premature victory to Donald Trump before all the ballots were counted. They then worked to overturn the outcome through lies blasted on television, to baseless court cases, to ultimately the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Be prepared to hear the same election deniers and others who want to impose fascism in America to again lie about the outcome Tuesday night, and try to undermine your vote. They will demand that the vote-counting stop, prematurely declare victory, spew lies about voting integrity on television and social media, and take legal measures to undermine your will.
Be prepared for this garbage, but do not let it deter you from voting. Do not let it discourage you. In America, we count all the votes. The people make the final call, not election-denying politicians and their supporters.
In New York, voting results will come in Tuesday night after the polls close. Those results, as provided by the Board of Elections, are preliminary, and will include the early vote as well as the Election Day vote.
Projected winners will be announced for most races. Some races will be tighter than others, and decided through the count of absentee ballots later. Patience is required in all cases.
And every single candidate on the ballot must accept the outcome. They don’t have to like it, but they had better damn well accept it — because this country needs to find a way to pull herself back from the brink of political collapse.
Conspiracy theorists and MAGA’s political predators aren’t just driving a wedge between us; they’re driving a stake through the heart of our democracy. All of us as Americans should stand together against this amoral, un-American effort and actively work to find ways “to bind up our nation’s wounds.”
Elections have been contested in this country for nearly 2 1/2 centuries. We have survived this long because of our ability to accept the results and peacefully transfer power. We cannot survive if that mutual pact between parties, politicians and the people is broken.
Please remember these things on Election Day, and beyond.
