POLITICAL
WELLNESS
Political wellness is the ability to accurately and insightfully evaluate the questions of power that impact your life and make informed decisions. From fake news to Russian meddling and voter suppression, its important we understand what's on the ballot and what's at stake in this 2020 Presidential Election.
FAKE NEWS. VOTER SUPPRESSION. RUSSIAN MEDDLING. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
From the closure of over 1600 polling places nationwide, to the removal of street mailboxes by the US Postal Service to Trump rallying his supporters to go to polling places and “watch very carefully” (a thinly veiled call for voter intimidation), the ability to vote and have that vote counted is under more of a threat than usual.
Have A Voting Plan
Confirm Your Registration
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Are you registered to vote?
Choose How Will You Vote
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Mail-in ballot?
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Designated drop box?
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In person (early or Election Day?)
Confirm deadlines
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When are mail-in ballots due? and locations
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Where is the drop box or polling place?
Problems voting or questions?
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Call the national, non-partisan Election Protection hotline:
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English: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
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Espanol: 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-888-839-8682)
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Arabic: 1-844-YALLA-US (1-844-925-5287)
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Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese: 1-888-274-8683
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If you have voted...
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And want to do more - you can help family, friends, neighbors and others vote
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Support non-partisan efforts to protect voters
Reflection question
Why is voting important to me, regardless of the outcome?
What do I need to do to feel safe voting?
There is A LOT of information coming at us everyday. Sometimes the information is blatantly false, like the rumors the coronavirus came from 5G towers. Other times, the information is intentionally manipulated. Fake news can be defined as "those news stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotes." For example, in the lead up to the 2016 presidential elections, fake websites, fake social media accounts representing fake organizations were created that specifically targeted Black Americans. The goal was to take advantage of real skepticism of the political system to dissuade Black people from voting.
SUGGESTION
Take it back to the old school — way back. One way to think about this is how we think of hadith - how do we know a hadith is accurate? There are two basic things we check - the isnad (who related the hadith and what was their reputation) and the matn (the content of the hadith does not contradict well-known Islamic ideas). So when it comes to information:
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Consider your sources: who is sharing the information?
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Consider the content: does the information make sense?
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Consider your role: check the information is true before sharing.
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Consider only a few: select the folks you trust that you want to get information from and stick listening to them during this election season.
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Consider a break: step away from the media fray consistently so you don’t get so overwhelmed.
Reflection question
Much of the time the best information comes from those closest to us who are closest to the issues so: Who are the folks, friends, families, teachers, that you usually feel confident are sharing accurate information?
MORE INFO + RESOURCES
CONTESTED
ELECTION
The transfer power from the outgoing US president to the incoming US president usually goes on without a hitch (even Gore ultimately accepted defeat in 2000). However, all indications show that should the current president lose he will not accept defeat - or at least without a fight. The US political system is far from perfect and while many of us want to see fundamental changes to it, that should be led by the people, not an individual in power.
“This is not a drill, and there is no reason to believe Trump will go quietly if he is defeated. There is every reason, however, to believe he and his allies will incite hysteria and even violence. Those who assume otherwise haven’t been paying attention.”
- Mehdi Hassan
SUGGESTION
Stay Calm. Stay Ready.
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Prepare yourself mentally for a contested election. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic many are choosing mail-in voting and as a result, we will not know who won on election night as most of us are used to. Know that’s OK because all votes must be counted. Know too that suggestions that this delay is the result of election fraud is meant to confuse and cause anxiety.
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Be prepared to tell it like it is. If there is an attempt to illegally hold onto the presidency, call it what it is, illegal, a coup, unjust etc., to avoid normalizing the abnormal.
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Be prepared to use your voice to speak out or walk out. Have the numbers and emails of your local and state-level elected officials on hand to voice any concerns. Connect with your local community organizations to join community-led post-election responses.
Reflection question
What will a contested election mean for me, my family? Community?
MORE INFO + RESOURCES
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