Call to 'CountEveryVote' in rallying cry against Trump's misinformation campaign

Former RNC chair says Trump ‘just attempted to highjack the election’, as celebrities and politicians call for count to be respected

US President Donald Trump speaks about the early results of the 2020 elections in the White House late on Tuesday night (REUTERS)

As the race to the White House entered its last lap without a clear winner between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, a call for the count of every vote to be respected was issued by a host of prominent citizens, politicians and celebrities including Mark Ruffalo and Katy Perry. 

It came as an immediate response to Mr Trump’s 2am statement claiming victory, even while the final results in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin were far from decided. In contrast, his opponent Mr Biden expressed his confidence in a win for Democrats – once all the votes are counted.

“Hang tough all! This is the #RedMirage it’s about to “turn the corner” into a #BlueWall. Take a breath and get centered in yourself for the next coming days. #CountEveryVote,” tweeted Mark Ruffalo who has been vocal in his opposition against Mr Trump’s policies.

Katy Perry and Chelsea Handler also tweeted #CountEveryVote with similar pictures stating that 102 million votes were cast before 3 November and “we must count all the votes.”

Others who sought calm and patience while calling for a full count included Uzo Aduba, Debra Messing, James Corden and Chelsea Peretti.

“They gotta count every vote. Every last one. Just. Keep. Breathing. This could take a little while,” Corden tweeted.

Even though Mr Biden has maintained a clear national lead in polls over the past few weeks, many had predicted it to be a close contest and that has been borne out in the results so far.  

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele tweeted that in the “East Room of the White House, Trump has just attempted to highjack the election” while “millions of ballots are still uncounted.”

The founder of non-partisan Protect Democracy, Ian Bassin, said: “This is everything we feared and expected.

“There are legitimate votes being counted and the President is falsely and corruptly trying to claim there's something wrong with that.  Don't fall for it. Every voter counts and we will #CountEveryVote,” Mr Bassin tweeted.

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