Joy to the Polls

On Tuesday morning, November 3, I woke with a sense of dread.

I was grieving the divisiveness and misinformation surrounding the election and campaigns. I was concerned at the hints of violence that surfaced in the recent attempt to kidnap Michigan's Governor Whitmer, in the death threats against Dr. Fauci and his family, in social media posts urging physical removal of our Pennsylvania governor, Tom Wolf. 

I was aware of the tinder keg of grief and anger simmering in Philadelphia after the tragic death of Walter Wallace, Jr. I feared that long lines in urban neighborhoods, confronted by Trump supporters carrying guns, could easily explode. 

I had decided to fast and pray on Monday and Tuesday, hoping occasional pangs of hunger would remind me to continue in prayer. 

As I prayed on Tuesday morning, I found myself praying for joy, a strange thing to pray on election morning when I was working so hard to manage anxiety and dread. 

I often write my prayers in composition book journals.  On "Nov. 3, 2020, Tuesday, Election Day!" I wrote:

Lord, today, give us your joy. 
Help us be strong in the Lord and in your mighty strength, for we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with the spirit of deception, division, rage, power. 
Open the eyes of our people.
Give wisdom, grace, joy, compassion.
Sing your song of grace to our hearts. 
Eternal God, give our hearts your joy this day. 

I had signed up for a shift with the Election Protection coalition, monitoring social media for disinformation, reporting attempts to suppress the vote and sharing positive posts with factual responses. While I saw much that concerned me, I also found myself encountering posts in Philadelphia that surprised and delighted me.

The first I saw was from days before at an early voting center somewhere in Philly. Comments acknowledged that lines shouldn't be so long, but the right to vote is worth waiting for. Democracy is worth celebrating. Hashtag: JoytothePolls

As I worked my election day 9 to noon shift, I saw more #JoytothePolls posts, with string quartets, gospel choirs, rappers, a harpist, klezmer bands serenading voters or inviting them to dance in their long socially-distanced lines.  

Some musicians stayed in one place, like the string quartet outside South Philadelphia High School.

Some moved on flatbed trucks from one polling place to another. 

Videos surfaced of impromptu dancing or rapping, of a 92 year old woman dancing her way to vote.

When I dug in a little, I learned that Joy to the Polls was a recent idea of artists and organizers, loosely associated with a non-partisan coalition called Election Defenders. All were concerned that anxieties around long lines, exposure to Covid-19, threats of armed militias, simmering racial tension could discourage voters. All wanted to encourage citizens who hadn't voted by mail to come cast their vote despite very real concerns. 

As organizer Natalie Stamp explained, 

Our approach is to try and focus on the positive, to ask ourselves, how can we be as positive as possible within a really scary situation? We wanted to figure out a way so while people are outside of the polling station, we can bring them a feeling of safety and a feeling of joy. 

On Election Day, Joy to the Polls musicians appeared in cities across the state and in states across the country. In Philadelphia, a few misunderstandings early in the day were sorted out quickly. In other parts of the state, a few threatening encounters were defused. As the polls closed on Tuesday evening, musicians reminded voters in long lines that anyone already in line could stay and vote, and the music continued. Reports of the day, from all parts of the state, were cheerful, even joyful. 

But Pennsylvania's election 2020 drama was only beginning. 

For months, election officials had been begging PA legislators to pass a bill allowing for pre-canvasing of ballots. Most states allow mail ballots to be opened as they come in and prepared for scanning before election day. It took days for counties to process mail ballots after the June primary. They warned it would take days, maybe weeks, to process a much higher volume of ballots after November 3. 

Despite the repeated requests, legislative leaders chose not to pass the needed change. A Reuters Special Report on October 23 warned that the Pennsylvania vote count could throw the country into "historical political crisis." 

Tensions were high on Wednesday as Trump supporters arrived outside the Philadelphia convention center where hundreds of thousands of ballots were being counted.

Joy showed up in response: musicians, DJs, clergy, rabbis. While Trump supporters shouted "Stop the count," a growing crowd sang and danced. Soon they were dancing a new "Count Every Vote" line dance. 

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday morning, the music continued, more fanciful and joyful as time went on. The Eagles' mascot Gritty showed up to dance. Dancing ballot boxes and mailboxes appeared. The Trump protest slowly dwindled, eventually disappearing. 

I know there's more to this story than I could see from my narrow Twitter-feed window. And there's more than I can tell in a short Sunday afternoon blog post.

The election drama is still not over. President Trump has not yet conceded. While some lawsuits have already been dismissed, more litigation is brewing. Allegations of fraud will continue to circulate, although no evidence has surfaced. There are still rumblings of violence and plenty of need for prayer for a smooth transfer of power. And the white evangelical church has much work to do to in unraveling the tangled webs of righteous and unrighteous allegiance.

For me, this week, I caught a tiny slice of some things I hadn't seen before, or maybe had seen but not understood, or maybe knew but had forgotten: 

• Joy has far more power than anger.
• Love is far more convincing than reason.
• God is at work outside our narrow constructs.
• The American church is far larger than white evangelicalism.

For now, I celebrate. Every vote will be counted. Every voice will be heard. 

The joy of the Lord is our strength.