Feeling optimistic about Joe Biden's prospects in the presidential race, a coalition of progressive groups is planning a "National Day of Solidarity" on Saturday.
The coordinated effort will span 40 states across and include more than 70 events beginning midday.
"We're going to see the leaders of 230 people-powered organizations across the country coming together, lifting up our voices" Angela Peoples, director of the umbrella group Democracy Defense Coalition, announced to NBC News exclusively in an interview. The purpose is to celebrate record high ballot counts nationwide while "making sure that every vote is counted, and that the voices of the people is what won out on the day," she explained.
Ahead of Tuesday's election, the groups mapped out multiple ways to mobilize progressives after Election Day, regardless of the outcome, which was expected to be unpredictable. In materials sent to organizers of faith, labor, women, environmental and social justice groups, the coalition explained that "sustained and coordinated action" is the best way to help ensure long term support for progressives.
Saturday's actions are encouraged to respect local Covid-19 safety protocols and will include everything from rallies and demonstrations to live music and artistic expressions.
“The last four years have shown us that our best bet, our best weapon to fight back against efforts that would want to push us backwards, is people power, and that's why we're coming together," Peoples said.
President Donald Trump's surprise 2016 win unleashed a wave of activism across the country, most instantly depicted throughout cites in the days after his inauguration. From spontaneous demonstrations at airports to the March for Our Lives rallies after the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Florida to, most recently, the social justice movement sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, protesters routinely promised their activism would yield political changes.
Tuesday's results — while still coming in — did not lead to the national repudiation that volunteers and members of the groups leading Saturday's coalition have worked for this election cycle. The 11 progressive organizations leading the Democracy Defense Coalition include MoveOn, Color of Change and Indivisible and include millions of members. People's Action, one of the 10 leadership organizations in the coalition, says 21,000 of its volunteers helped blast out 35 million text messages and made 8 million phone calls this cycle alone.
However, national exit polls showed self-described liberal voters made up just 24 percent of the national electorate, with 89 percent of them backing Biden. If the race is called for their favored candidate by this weekend, they are ready to celebrate their efforts.
"We think that it is really important for us to build on the momentum of what we know will be a Biden win," Peoples said. "A Biden win is really a win of the people and for the people, and this is a chance to build on that."
