Waltham Activists Rally To Demand Every Vote Is Counted

WALTHAM, MA — About two dozen Waltham residents gathered at Waltham Common Wednesday evening to demand that every vote be counted and that President Donald Trump honor the results of the election when they are tallied.

"Democracy itself is at stake," said protest organizer and Waltham resident Jennifer Rose. "Russian dictator Joseph Stalin famously said, 'It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.' All votes must be counted for an election to be legitimate and before a winner is declared."

Democratic-leaning groups were worried that Trump would try to claim victory in the election before all votes were counted as he did Tuesday night, but the rally is billed as non-partisan.

Trump doubled down on claims Wednesday that he had won the 2020 presidential election, even as legitimate ballots were still being tallied, while Joe Biden's campaign said it would fight any efforts by the president to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent outstanding ballots from being tabulated in Pennsylvania and Michigan, where the Trump campaign has sued the state to stop ballots from being counted.

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

The event is part of hundreds organized by Protect the Results — a coalition of more than 100 groups that was formed in an effort to protect the results of the election if Trump refused to concede.

There are dozens of rallies planned for Wednesday across the commonwealth, including in Boston, Worcester, Framingham and Watertown.

In Boston, hundreds of people showed up.

"I am concerned that the President is trying to foment violent reactions to the counting of the votes across our country," Sen. Ed Markey told reporters ahead of that event. "He is perpetrating a fraud in his contention that these are illegally cast votes. 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. My fear is that the President through his lies will send a false message to his supporters that something unconstitutional or illegal is happening. Nothing unconstitutional is happening. Nothing illegal is happening."

Related: More Than 3K Expected To Rally To Protect Votes On Boston Common