The record-breaking voter turnout we saw this election makes one thing clear: Americans are determined to participate in our democracy and make our voices heard. Throughout this election, the Sierra Club remained committed to protecting people’s right to cast their votes safely and confidently, despite misinformation, threats of voter intimidation, and a global pandemic.
We focused on showing up for voters on the ground, making sure each and every person was prepared to cast a ballot that would be counted. The Sierra Club Democracy Program partnered with the Election Protection coalition to mobilize Sierra Club attorneys, non-legal staff, and volunteers in a nationwide effort to help people access the ballot and uphold the principle of “one person, one vote.”
We funded the mobilization of nearly 22 attorneys from our Environmental Law Program and across the organization to volunteer with the voter hotline and in-state election-protection boiler rooms. Many of these attorneys provided assistance at in-person polling locations in Virginia, and four even flew across the country to help in Florida. We also recruited 424 Sierra Club volunteers to sign up to be nonpartisan poll monitors, joining thousands of other volunteers on the ground helping voters solve problems and access legal support if needed.
Though we were warned of heightened voter intimidation by the Trump campaign and its right-wing and white supremacist allies, Election Day went fairly smoothly. That certainly doesn’t mean there were no problems or that voters did not face barriers—we did see some typical election-administration issues, including voting equipment not working properly and poll workers who were not properly trained. We also had sporadic reports of voter intimidation, as well as disinformation, but no instances were too far out of the norm. In spite of these obstacles, voters came out in record-breaking numbers to cast their ballots.
A relatively smooth Election Day serves as evidence that when we expand voting access to give people more options to vote, whether it’s by mail, curbside voting, or extending early voting, we have fewer problems on Election Day. Americans should be presented with accessible voting options for every election, pandemic or no pandemic.
We remain committed to upholding our democracy as a crucial part of our fight to restore the right to clean air, clean water, and a sustainable, healthy climate for every American. We will continue to work to ensure that every vote is counted and that the results of the election are protected. As this election has shown us, no amount of corruption, lies, confusion or threats of violence can stop our power.