In New York, Democrats Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres are set to become the first two openly gay Black men elected to Congress, replacing lawmakers who are retiring after decades in Washington. Jones will represent New York’s 17th Congressional District, joining the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He supports the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and a $15 minimum wage. “The era of small ideas is over,” Jones says.

One of the crucial states that could decide the presidential election is Arizona, where Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump with thousands of ballots left to count. Trump won Arizona in 2016, and if Biden’s lead holds, he will be just the second Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1948.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appears to be inching toward victory as counting continues in several key states that could put him over 270 electoral votes, the threshold needed to win the Electoral College and take the White House. President Trump and his supporters, meanwhile, have attacked the process and falsely claimed Democrats are stealing the election, and the Trump campaign has launched a barrage of legal challenges in swing states related to ballot counting.

Acclaimed poet and activist Nikki Giovanni has a new collection of poems called “Make Me Rain,” a celebration of her Black heritage, as well as an exploration of racism and white nationalism. In the poem “Vote,” Giovanni offers her thoughts on the importance of voting. It was filmed by The Meteor, a feminist collective of activists, journalists and creators, part of a daily Instagram series focusing on voting rights.

While most eyes are trained on the contest between President Trump and Joe Biden, down-ballot races and state ballot measures will also have major consequences for racial justice, immigration, reproductive rights and more. “The issues and policies that affect people day in and day out are often determined on the bottom of the ballot,” says Ronald Newman, the national political director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa joins us to discuss her new book, “Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America,” which tells the story of U.S. immigration through her own journey to the United States from Mexico as a small child to her groundbreaking work as a reporter. She says it wasn’t until the height of the family separation crisis under the Trump administration that she learned about her own family’s near-separation by U.S.