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For Immediate Release
November, 03 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Anya Silverman-Stoloff, anya@unbendablemedia.com
Biden on Track to Win, Thanks to Women and Women of Color - Now We Need to Count the Votes
As we await the results of the 2020 presidential election, Shaunna Thomas, executive director of UltraViolet, a leading national women's advocacy organization, issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON
As we await the results of the 2020 presidential election, Shaunna Thomas, executive director of UltraViolet, a leading national women's advocacy organization, issued the following statement:
"Let's be clear, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the popular vote and very likely the electors needed to win the electoral college vote thanks to the work of women, and specifically women of color across the country who have been organizing to protect our democracy from day one. From the beginning we knew that this election would be unprecedented and it would take time to count the votes - we need to do just that now to ensure that every vote cast is counted.
"Americans across race, place of origins and zip code turned out in record numbers to stand with and for each other. Across the country, women, and especially Black and Latinx women, organized and because of their herculean efforts in places like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia delivered the votes that will likely put Biden in the White House and make Kamala Harris the first Black woman Vice President. They saved our democracy - and now we must make sure the votes they delivered are counted.
"Donald Trump and Republicans know that the only way they have a chance to win is if they steal the election and stop the vote count. We won't let them. Count the votes and let the American people pick their next President."
In 2020, UltraViolet Action organized the first ever Women's Disinformation Defense Project, a war room of progressive organizations focused explicitly on preventing the spread of racist and sexist disinformation targeting women candidates and voters. Designed to defend Vice President Kamala Harris and other women and women of color running for office, and inoculated women voters from attempts to smear these candidates, UltraViolet's $1.5m election work included:
- Media accountability campaigns focused on de-platforming those that perpetuated racist and sexist disinformation, including the publication of a comprehensive media guide on how the media can cover women politicians and people of color in politics. This also included calls on the DNC to block all Democratic presidential candidates with active non-disclosure agreements for sexual harassment and workplace abuse on debate
- Platform accountability - focused on holding platforms like Facebook and Twitter accountable for the spread of racist and sexist disinformation, as well as the promotion of right-wing violence and QAnon conspiracy theories.
- Direct voter engagement, popularizing the fact that voters should expect right-wing disinformation attacks focused on racism and sexism, and countered it with positive messages to low propensity voters in battleground states, creating a permission structure encouraging turnout. This included running a six figure ad buy in English and Spanish targeting young, Black, and Latina voters with turnout and pro-Biden content.
In total, UltraViolet's efforts reached 36 million voters with electoral outreach programs across organic and paid media.
UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.
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Sanders Warns Trump Will 'Accelerate Movement Toward Authoritarianism' If Dems Cave
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Nov 03, 2025
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday implored his Democratic colleagues in Congress not to cave to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the ongoing government shutdown fight, warning that doing so would hasten the country's descent into authoritarianism.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, Sanders (I-Vt.) called Trump a "schoolyard bully" and argued that "anyone who thinks surrendering to him now will lead to better outcomes and cooperation in the future does not understand how a power-hungry demagogue operates."
"This is a man who threatens to arrest and jail his political opponents, deploys the US military into Democratic cities, and allows masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to pick people up off the streets and throw them into vans without due process," Sanders wrote. "He has sued virtually every major media outlet because he does not tolerate criticism, has extorted funds from law firms and is withholding federal funding from states that voted against him."
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Sanders' op-ed came as the shutdown continued with no end in sight, with Democrats standing by their demand for an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits as a necessary condition for any government funding deal. Republicans have so far refused to negotiate on the ACA subsidies even as health insurance premiums skyrocket nationwide.
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In his op-ed on Sunday, Sanders asked, "Does anyone truly believe that caving in to Trump now will stop his unprecedented attacks on our democracy and working people?"
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As the Trump administration continued its illegal freeze on food assistance, the US Department of Agriculture sent a warning to grocery stores not to provide discounts to the more than 42 million Americans affected.
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On Thursday, the comedian hosted a segment mocking Trump's bizarre distaste for the electromagnetic catapults aboard Navy ships, which the president said he may sign an executive order to replace with older (and less efficient) steam-powered ones.
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