ELECTION DAY – YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Greeting D-8 Neighbors,

On the eve of Election Day, many have cast their votes and are anxiously awaiting to hear the results. If you have not voted, you can still vote in person or drop your ballot in drop off ballot boxes (info posted below) on Election Day, November 3rd – 7:00 am – 8:00 pm.

We can be extremely proud in knowing that Prince Georgians led the State in voting!  We realize the power of our voices and voting.  Click here for Prince George’s Suite Story, “Leading the Way”

ELECTION NIGHT- WHAT WILL WE KNOW!

Here is a briefing on Election Night by Hugo Cantu, District 8 Policy Analyst

Hello All,

As we close in on election day, I want to offer some cautious optimism regarding the days ahead. As we know, there has been an unprecedented 97 million early votes cast. This is due to a pandemic, that has only exasperated the issues around racial justice, fair employment opportunities, and access to quality healthcare and education. To put in perspective, voters nationally have cast about 71% of the total 127 million ballots counted in the 2016 general election, with over 61 million being mail in ballots. There have been over 111,000 early voters in Prince George’s County, which is just over 18% of the county’s eligible voters.

With the sheer number of ballots being mailed in and with the rhetoric of the current administration regarding “fraud like you have never seen”, there is a possibility we may not know who the next President of the United States will be on Tuesday night – and that’s okay. Now take a deep breath.

The possibility of knowing the President of the United States by the end of the night is unlikely. Even to the point of “election night results,” a former Justice Department Civil Rights Attorney stated that “there is no such thing as election night results, they are only partial results.” We know counting mail-in ballots take more time and more resources than in-person voting but is that the only reason for the delay? Not entirely. Many votes are counted after election night, some are counted before election day, and even some states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin cannot start counting votes until election day.

In summary, each state has its policy regarding when to start counting ballots, how long after the state can continue to count the ballots, which can delay complete results. This system has long been in places and is in no way fraudulent. Experts say, the real problem comes from placing the seed of doubt into the current process. As the result numbers are updated and certified after election night, the process becomes susceptible to unfounded reports, and conspiracy theories

While we are accustomed to knowing the presidential election results on the night of, we may not (remember Bush v. Gore in 2000?). I want to advise us all to take a deep breath, allow the election process to take its course, and if you still have not voted – PLEASE VOTE.

TAKE THEBUS TO THE POLLS – FREE TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED ON ELECTION DAY

“TheBus” is extending service hours on all active County bus lines until 9:00 PM on Election Day. In addition, TheBus is free for all riders. For more information on routes and schedules, visit mypgc.us/thebus. #ProudtoVotePGC

No olvide que “TheBus” está extendiendo el horario de servicio en todas las líneas activas de autobuses del condado hasta las 9:00 PM el día de las elecciones. Además, TheBus es gratuito para todos los pasajeros. Para obtener más información, visite mypgc.us/thebus.

VOTING LOCATIONS – ELECTION DAY