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We should think of November 3rd as merely the first of many days of electoral uncertainty while states count every vote. And that is okay.

We need to continue to demand a government committed to protecting Black and brown communities in this moment, and need to continue to push for bold, transformative change.

Despite all the barriers, our communities showed up for democracy. Here is what must come next.

For what feels like the first time in years, we can pause for the briefest of moments and breathe.

A recent report by the national think tank Demos recommended jail staff take additional steps to ensure people are not disenfranchised because they are in jail.

Voting has always been one of the most powerful tools of a justice-seeking people determined to defeat oppression and its propagators.

In record numbers and in the face of a global pandemic, Americans voted early and on Election Day, and availed themselves of mail-in voting. But the right to vote includes the right to have your vote counted.

Congress must act swiftly to put transformative pro-democracy legislation at the top of the agenda.

"By ensuring that voters with limited English proficiency can access ballots, vote-by-mail requests, and other materials in Spanish, today’s settlement is one more positive step in the pursuit of a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy.” 

While Biden inspires hope, our democracy has let down Black communities for far too long.

New York — Dramatic increases in low-income voter registrations at public assistance agencies have occurred recently in five states that have taken steps to improve their compliance with a requirement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), according to a new report by Demos, a non-partisan public policy and research center.

"At a time when people are struggling to find work and keep their families afloat, Missouri has chosen to make what should be the simple act of casting a ballot unnecessarily complicated and burdensome."

"Beyond her accomplishments on the Court, Justice Ginsberg was a trailblazer for the ages and an unparalleled hero for so many."

"In sending hundreds of thousands of voter registration applications to public assistance clients during a global pandemic, Kansas is doing exactly what the National Voter Registration Act intended and requires."

States must now take swift action to design racially equitable voting systems—including dramatically scaling up vote by mail, while also maintaining accessible in-person voting—so communities are not disenfranchised this fall.

Missing voters aren't missing at all. Many are actually being silenced by bureaucratic barriers and unnecessary logistical hurdles.