NUIFC Executive Message // Urban Native Organizations Across the Country Demand that Every Ballot be Counted in Historic Turnout Election
Urban Native Organizations Across the Country Demand that Every Ballot be Counted in Historic Turnout Election
The National Urban Indian Family Coalition is demanding that election officials are allowed time to count every ballot cast in the 2020 Election. A fair and accurate count is vital to keeping faith in our civic institutions, anything short will have negative effects that will revibrate into the future.
“We know that Democracy is Indigenous and that the will of the people calls on state election officials to ensure that every ballot is counted.”
We have already seen a historic level of turnout from the urban Indian community around the country. This movement engaged and inspired hundreds of thousands of Urban Natives to cast their ballots despite a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and election mismanagement that led to long lines and confusion. Despite all of this, urban Indian America turned out in droves to vote across the country and we are demanding that our voice be heard, and our votes properly counted. We want to thank all of our partners throughout Indian Country for their relentless work to make this possible and demonstrate our communities’ resilience and determination to do whatever is necessary to ensure that their votes are counted.
Demanding that every ballot be counted is not a controversial statement, it is the basis of our democratic system, one that traces its roots backs to Native American tradition. The prolonged election results were not unexpected, election officials and non-partisan organizations have been preparing us for this outcome.
“Nothing should stand in the way of counting every vote and delivering on the promise of our democracy,” says Rio Fernandes, the NUIFC’s Communications and Project Director. “We know that Democracy is Indigenous and that the will of the people calls on state election officials to ensure that every ballot is counted.”
Below are helpful resources for other individuals and organizations that want to defend our democracy.
The non-partisan Leadership Conference has created this scenario messaging around the count and messaging for the post-election waiting period.
Amplify the message that counting every vote is more important than knowing the final election results quickly. Your vote matters. Your vote is important. You deserve to be heard. Find sample graphics and hashtags — #AndStillIVote, #CountEveryVote, #EveryVoteCounts, and #DemocracyRising.