On Monday night, Trump’s attempt to let the Postal Service dictate whose mail ballot to deliver lost in the Supreme Court, 7-2.
We need to celebrate this as a win, even though our fight to defend democracy is far from over. People cheer for a winning team. They join the winning side. If people don’t know we’re winning–if all they hear about on the news is fear and confusion and attacks on their rights–then why should we expect them to vote with us, march with us, and stand up to authoritarians with us?
We celebrate our wins because it brings more people to our side, and that leads to more winning.
Trump’s Postal Service Rule is Blocked
The Postal Service had issued a 95-page plan requiring every state to submit a pre-approved list of eligible voters through a “federal portal” so the Postal Service could check each ballot before delivering it. States that didn’t comply risked having their voters’ ballots go undelivered.
A federal judge in Boston froze the rule, saying there’s no legal basis for the Postal Service to regulate elections. The Supreme Court’s Monday order keeps her freeze in place. “The Postal Service exists to deliver Americans’ mail, not to rewrite election rules,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters.
In August, I wrote that an earlier Supreme Court order in this same fight wasn’t the win the headlines made it out to be. Monday’s order is more solid: it means the Postal Service won’t be allowed write new rules for mail-in voting in November.
Chenoweth and Stephan Tell Us That Movements Win When More People Join Them
Political scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan spent years studying why some movements against authoritarians succeed while others fail. They found that positive, nonviolent campaigns win more often mainly because more people can take part. You don’t need to take a huge risk to hand out flyers, take a day off to march, or mail your ballot. That lower bar brings in bigger and more varied groups of people, and size and diversity are what give a pro-democracy movement strength.
Large movements are harder for authoritarians to shut down.
Talking About Your Wins Brings More People to Your Movement!
People are very good at deciding whether a fight is worth their effort, and their decision usually comes down to whether the fight seems like it’s working. This is exactly why political campaigns are always talking about who has “momentum.” More people join the side that seems to be winning.
This means we can’t note a win like Monday’s quietly and move on. Yes, more attacks are on the way. But every time an attack on our elections fails so completely and so publicly, the country learns that none of this is inevitable and that we aren’t powerless. Americans have agency in this moment, and that terrifies Trump.
As it turns out, today is National Voter Registration Day. In this moment, registering to vote is how a person says: I’m going to be counted, I’m not going to be silenced by the campaign of fear and division against my community.
It’s the same thing 50,000 people in Minneapolis said when they marched at twenty below zero and forced federal agents to leave town a few weeks later. It’s what the voters and cities who sued to keep armed agents away from the polls said in court last week. It’s what the Ohio Organizing Collaborative said when it threw a block party the week after the FBI raided its office.
Standing with your community against fear is who we are, and when you stand strong it makes it easier for others to stand strong with you.
Here’s to a just and joyful future.