With election day already here, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed, nervous-excited, or utterly terrified about what the aftermath in our country looks like once the next President is crowned, no matter which party prevails. I, for one, am praying that we do not have to deal with a certain someone in office for another four years. Yet regardless of your political beliefs, I’m sure we can all agree that this is arguably the most important election in U.S. history — the pandemic not only continues to rear its ugly head, but Americans have made history in absolutely demolishing early-voting records, demonstrating the importance of political involvement and the persistence to survive one of the most unique and chaotic periods of a lifetime. Plain and simple, this election holds drastic consequences for the future of our nation, for the future of democracy. But at the same time, when we go to bed at the end of the night there is a very real possibility that we won’t even know who the President is yet. To manage the uncertainty and temporarily quell our fears, here are a couple of things we can to do prepare for tonight:
1. VOTE
While early voting is over, same-day registration is still available (depending on which state you live in, of course). If the 2016 election has taught us anything, it’s that political disengagement is no longer an option. You can’t proclaim that you care about the democratic process if you say “I don’t feel like voting”, or “my vote won’t change anything.” The overall uneasiness towards both candidates four years ago led to dangerously low voter turnout rates and played a huge role in determining the outcome of the election. Every vote counts, and if you choose to recuse yourself, you’re signing away the rights to your power and your voice.
2. Take a little break from social media
This is definitely a hard one to do considering we want to have every little bit of information in our brains leading up to election coverage. However, from personal experience, spending too much time reading news articles and scrolling through Twitter and Tiktok only elevates my anxiety, especially from being bombarded by a swarm of random people’s opinions that mock the candidate I voted for. Some of the information out there is also blatantly false and not worth wasting your time panicking over. So, consider taking a bit of a cleanse from your phone, even if that means limiting your interactions with your peers because getting involved in too many heated political discussions is probably a bad idea right before the election.
3. Know that you’ve done everything you can
Exercising your right to vote and encouraging your friends and family members to do so as well is ultimately all we can do. Once our vote is cast, the outcome is out of our hands. Thus, it’s important to try as best as you can to avoid catastrophizing about every possible outcome or thing that could go wrong. Contrary to what our minds lead us to believe, the world will not come crashing down immediately after Tuesday night. And, given how contentious the rivalry is between the two presidential candidates, we also need to remind ourselves of the tremendous impact local politics has on our daily lives.
No matter how monumental tonight is and the days that follow, life will go on. Good luck to everyone, and stay safe!