Hundreds Rally In Boston To Demand All Votes Be Counted

BOSTON — Several hundred people gathered in Boston Common Wednesday to demand legislators and election officials across the country ensure every vote from Tuesday's election is counted.

Nonpartisan groups began organizing this week in anticipation that President Donald Trump would try to claim victory before all votes are counted. When he did and his campaign sued to stop Pennsylvania and Michigan from finishing vote-counting, the groups organized rallies across the country.

In Boston Common, newly re-elected U.S. Sen. Ed Markey encouraged the crowd to peacefully urge election officials to continue to count every vote.

"I will say this, Donald Trump is scared, Donald Trump does not want every vote counted," said Markey, who called Trump a despot. "We are just standing to say we are going to fight every single step of the way."

The crowd chanted "Count every vote!" several times.

Markey said he was concerned the president was trying to foment violent reactions to the counting of the votes.

"He is perpetrating a fraud in his contention that these are illegally cast votes," Markey told reporters ahead of the rally. "They are not. They are legally cast votes that are being counted in states all across our country consistent with the laws of those states."

Newton resident Lori Green said she attended the rally because she felt strongly about the issue.

"The future of our democracy depends on this," she told Patch. "There's nothing more undemocratic than suppressing the vote."

Jared Hicks, of Dorchester, said vote-counting has to continue because voting is one of the few ways citizens who aren't wealthy or politically connected can change government.

"It matters," he said. "We should all vote, but we have to secure and protect the right to vote."

It should be as easy as possible to ensure that voices are heard through the ballot box, he said.

Organizers of the Boston event said vote-counting is not a partisan issue.

"This is a human rights issue," said Tanisha Sullivan of the NAACP. "So anyone that would have us believe that counting every ballot is divisive ... I say to them, this is about our democracy it can't get any more American than this."

Kristine Acevedo of Dorchester said she is not a supporter of Trump or Biden, but did support the full counting of the votes as a way to ensure people from all walks of life are heard.

A handful of people brought anti-Trump signs to the rally.

The Boston event was one of hundreds nationwide and dozens across the commonwealth organized by Protect the Results, a coalition of groups, including Indivisible Mass Coalition and the ACLU of Massachusetts.

"The ACLU in all 50 states is not going away," Carol Rose of the ACLU told reporters ahead of the rally. "We were made for this moment."

Joe Biden's campaign said it will fight any efforts by the president to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent outstanding ballots from being tabulated.

The presidential election may not be decided for days or longer because of higher numbers of absentee ballots cast amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he understood people were anxious about the election and wanted to speak out.

"We have to be patient, and we have to respect the democratic process," he said. "I would just ask everyone to do it peacefully and constructively ... Let’s stay focused on the count."

Safety marshals were at the rally; no disturbances popped up. By 5 p.m., the crowd mostly dispersed.

As the crowd left, organizers urged residents to push Massachusetts to keep measures put in place amid the pandemic, such as early voting and mail-in voting, to help encourage voting in the future.

Independent poll watchers said voting issues — from long lines to electioneering —that came up at the polls in Massachusetts were dealt with swiftly. There has been little to indicate any communities in the commonwealth will stop counting votes.

Statewide, 2,157 of 2,173 precincts have reported election results, according to The Associated Press.

"We've been fighting for freedom a long time, but we are not tired yet," said Rahsaan Hall of the ACLU. "We're not there until the call of John Lewis to get into good trouble is no longer relevant."

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .