You may have seen some 5-alarm fire articles circulating about the upcoming election. Yes, there are anti-democratic forces at work in our country, but your vote still counts. So let’s hit pause and refocus on the facts.

Your vote is your voice and your power, and millions of Americans are already wielding that power. Ballots in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and many other states are in voters’ hands and being returned.

This election is going to be conducted under the rule of law, no matter what some pundits and politicians may say or how some may try to subvert the law. You may be skeptical but you shouldn’t be -- and here’s why:

We all vote under our state’s laws, and as provided by state law, mail-in absentee voting is being conducted in ALL 50 states and D.C. by thousands of local jurisdictions with voters from all political parties. Voters are in charge here.

And yes, there have been efforts to suppress the vote by some legislators or state officials, but they have been successfully challenged in most cases by organizations like ours.

When you go to the polls or submit your absentee ballots, the people you’ll see are your neighbors and election officials who help every voter have their say.

That means every last ballot will be counted, and every last voter will be checked in at the polls under procedures set down in state law. And if not? We’ll be there.

This year is definitely unusual. But the mechanics of democracy are still operating, and voter suppression efforts are being successfully challenged with the help of advocates like us and election officials who have voters’ backs.

We spend 365 days a year fighting for voting rights, and we are prepared to protect your vote.

We bring cases to protect vulnerable and marginalized voters. Right now, we have cases on behalf of nursing home residents in North Carolina on Covid-19 lockdowns and at-risk voters in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania whose ballots don’t arrive in the mail on time.

It’s important to keep in mind counting won’t be over on Election Day or Election Night, but that happens frequently, particularly in bigger states like Florida and California.

The reality is, you can’t count upwards of 150 million ballots in a day. The time it takes to tally ballots is the system working to make sure every vote counts. And that’s why elections are officially certified a week or more after Election Day.

The law works to demonstrate that the voting process is fair and transparent, and all eligible voters have their ballots counted. Subverting the system is harder than it sounds; our laws are pretty strong.

If anyone gets in your way, give us a call. Cast your vote, be counted, use your power. This is how we safeguard democracy.