My "How to Make it Through Election Day/Night in One Piece" Checklist

Some tips for navigating an exceedingly stressful day (and beyond)

I know a thing or two about difficult situations (playing an oft-crowded Austin roadway). But Tuesday—and almost certainly well beyond—will be a very challenging test for everyone invested in their community, state, and country—one that will try your patience, rationality, and guts.

But I have confidence that all y’all can do it. So here’s a quick list of tips that might help you through:

1. Bookmark a list of reliable sources: Election Day will be Christmas Morning for electoral disinformation, and even well-meaning accounts will fall victim to spreading inaccuracies. With this in mind, have a few trustworthy voices at the ready to guide you through this. A few good names who have proven reliable (and not pandering or unduly biased) in the past include but are certainly not limited to: Dave Wasserman, Matthew Dowd, Amy Walter, and Nate Cohn. Drop your faves in the comments, below. (Sorry in advance for the Twitter links, but that’s how most people will be following these folks this week.)

   Either ignore or cautiously wade through this garbage by staying focused on the long game and relying on smart and cautious people to help interpret things for you.

2. Tune out the bullshit: This election will be incredibly noisy, especially if/when Trump comes on to declare victory which he likely will no matter what the actual results are at the time. (Yes, he may be robustly ahead again at 10 PM in swing states due to their early vote and mail in ballot counting rules, which often cannot START until polls close.) Either ignore or cautiously wade through this garbage by staying focused on the long game and relying on smart and cautious people to help interpret things for you.

   

   Trump, with the closing simulated microphone blowjob of his campaign

3. Turn it off for a while: I’m not suggesting totally de-tangling yourself from this election spectacle, but your vote will have long since be cast and, outside of joy, outrage, or hopelessness (or, perhaps, all three in a short span), there won’t be anything for you to contribute moment by moment. So don’t be afraid to tune out for a while. Read, watch something fun, practice deep breathing, anything but waiting for the next map to fill in red or blue. Buying yourself a few precious moments in this stressful storm can be worth a lot.

4. Remember that nobody knows yet how this will turn out: Look, if you have a favorite pundit like, for example, Tim Miller at the Bulwark who has held your hand through this wild election season, there’s no reason to ditch them at the dance. Just keep in mind that they don’t know right now who is going to win. It’s a fact. I’m not saying this to discourage you, I’m just being real. So, don’t be freaked out if they’re not as sure of things at 9 PM Tuesday night as they seemed on Sunday. It’s the nature of the beast. And definitely don’t ride or die with clickbait accounts who have been screaming “TRUMP IS FINISHED” since August. They’re entertainers, not serious election commentators. Similarly, refreshing vote counting sites or 538’s takes every 5 minutes is probably going to be unhelpful and may, at least early in the night, stress you out even more.

   Be ready to celebrate hard earned wins Tuesday, but please stay grounded in reality. These nights don’t always have happy endings. Harris AND Cruz wins are a possible (perhaps even likely) exacta. Prepare yourself for strange results that run contrary to conventional wisdom but still hope for the right things to happen.

   

   Ahh, what could be (Photo: Saturday Night Live)

5. Be hopeful but grounded: As I noted in my last election piece, hope is free. Believe that good things can and will happen. Believe this with all of your heart and soul, in part because the alternative is so unthinkable. Be ready to celebrate hard earned wins Tuesday, but please stay grounded in reality. These nights don’t always have happy endings. Harris AND Cruz wins are a possible (perhaps even likely) exacta. Prepare yourself for strange results that run contrary to conventional wisdom but still hope for the right things to happen. I sure as hell know that I will be. Godspeed and Go, Kamala!