From the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to MSNBC Live in Brooklyn, Joy Reid and Alex Wagner have been joined at the hip this election season. With mere days to go until America decides the Oval Office’s next occupant, the duo are headlining the live special Your Power, Your Vote, premiering tonight at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
As its title suggests, the special is particularly focused on the role that female voters will play in deciding the election for Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, with a particular focus on the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Wagner has been visiting different states—including Pennsylvania—over the past few weeks and will share her on the ground findings.
Reid, meanwhile, plans to explore the potential impact of such issues as the economy and reproductive rights. The anchor previewed some of her findings—as well as her personal concerns about the election—with TVNewser.
What are the three takeaways you hope to give viewers through your reporting for the special?
Number one: Beware of bad information that’s designed to make you uneasy, like partisan polls and campaign tough talk. The campaigns all game the psychology of the electorate… ignore it and just vote.
Number two: All that matters are the votes, not the polls.
And number three: Understand the voting process and don’t get flustered as the leads change on Election Night. Votes come in in three batches—you’ll see Steve Kornacki say this all night, but it can’t be said enough. You’ll probably know the same day vote that night. In some cases, states count their early votes in advance so you might get that vote on Election Night, too.
But the absentee ballots also have to be counted and some states take a long time to do that. All of those votes are legitimate, and any batch of them can change the lead and the results. That’s not voter fraud—that’s called counting the votes.
