Every eligible voter who casts a ballot this fall has a right to have their vote counted and their voice heard -- whether they voted by mail or in person.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing a high volume of mail-in ballots this year -- which take a little longer to count due to how diligent election officials are. So it could take days (or even weeks) to secure an accurate final result.

That means we likely won’t know who all of the winners are on Election Night. And that’s okay -- because ensuring that every vote is tallied is far more important than getting results quickly.

If there is needless pressure to declare a winner too early, we risk disenfranchising the millions of Americans who voted by mail -- and denying them their right to be heard in our democracy.

But members of President Trump’s White House have already begun to demand that final results are announced on Election Night. [1] And Trump himself is trying to create chaos in the electoral process -- by spreading blatant lies about vote-by-mail and refusing to agree to a peaceful transition of power.

Journalists and election officials cannot let Trump and his allies pressure them into reporting incomplete or partial results on Election Night -- at the expense of everyday Americans’ rights and the integrity of our democracy.

Every ballot will be counted this fall, according to the law -- and no matter what Trump says or does, no one can declare themselves the president. That decision is to be made by the American people.

This petition is sponsored by: Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund, California Clean Money Action Fund, Climate Hawks Vote, Common Cause, Daily Kos, DemCast USA, Elders Stand for Fair Elections, Fight for the Future, The Juggernaut Project, LeftNet, Open The Government, People For the American Way, Progress America