‘You have to count ALL the votes’
Melanie Pongratz / Unsplash
“It’s such a basic thing that we have to stress,” said Bodow. “You have to count all the votes. Not just some of the votes or the votes that you want to count. All of them.”
And we don’t have to rush.
“The notion that we would know on election night is a recent invention. It’s a television convention because it’s a good story, and typically, we have been able to know. But not because we need to or it’s legally mandated.”
Some people are behaving as if we have to know who won before we go to bed on election night — but it isn’t like the winner takes over on November 4th. There is a reason why the next term doesn’t start until January! In fact, the electors for each state don’t even cast their ballots until December 14th. A few extra days – or weeks – won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
“The important thing about an election is not when it gets decided. It’s how it gets decided,” says Bodow. “The main thing we’re trying to do is inoculate people from freaking out or being susceptible to messages of this is terrible chaos, we need an answer now. Rather that we need the proper answer.”
Despite all the chaos 2020 has wrought, Bodow remains optimistic.
“The system is pretty good. If we just let it do its thing, we’ll get the right result,” said Bodow. We just need to chill out and let all those votes get counted.
Disclaimer: This sponsored article was produced and distributed in partnership with Story Network Foundation.
Want more WE COUNT content? Follow them on Facebook or Instagram!
