Voting should not be much of an issue for us in the United States. But times have change in the past few years.
Let me tell you about my 2022 voting experience.
Spouse and I, who live in New York State, decided to take advantage of the first day of early voting. It started for us on Saturday. One of the early voting poll sites (there are four in our county) is right next to the farmer's market. We would have been in the area, anyway. We got there 15 minutes after the site opened.
There didn't seem to be a line outside. So far, so good.
Inside, it was a different story. We found the end of the line, and settled in. We were standing in front of an older gentleman (well, we are "older", also) who told us the polling site had not received its ballots, and we were waiting. We decided to stay.
Everyone on the line seemed to be in a good mood. No grumbling. No anger. We waited patiently.
The ballots were delivered.
The line started to move.
We got to the room where the voting was taking place. All the poll workers were older people. In New York, you have an equal number. Half are Republicans. Half are Democrats.
The poll workers were smiling and chatting with voters as they checked them in.
We voted. The process was smooth. We left, and went to the farmer's market.
It was ordinary.
Except it wasn't. In our modern times, it was the exception. In our world, a large percentage of Americans feel that our nation is going in the wrong direction. A major polling company (Gallup) reported record levels of dissatisfaction. Whether or not you believe in these polls, I think this one is accurate.
Poll workers have been quitting in record numbers. One reason is threats of violence.
Finally, there are the constant death threats our elected officials receive. Some have escalated to actual attempted, or completed, violence.
No one knows what is going to happen next Tuesday, our national election day. There is a lot of anxiety.
But there is one thing you can do, if you are 18 or older. It's not a waste of time. It will count.
More than ever, I encourage my American readers, no matter what their political affiliations, to vote.
I am grateful my experience with voting in 2022 was peaceful, and I was able to vote without incident, without armed people monitoring my vote, without intimidation. My respect goes to those who are turning out and will turn out despite these kinds of threats.
We used to watch that happen on TV in other parts of the world. Now it's our turn.
Our democracy depends on us turning out and showing we care by voting.
...thank you Donny!
ReplyDeleteYour experience mirrored our own. We voted on Monday. Our voting site was well-attended by voters but our wait was short. We were taught how to navigate our new voting machines (they seem to change every time we vote) and we marked our ballots electronically, then printed them out, deposited them in the appropriate box and were on our way. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as my kids used to say!
ReplyDeleteI just finished filling in my mail in ballot last night. I'll get it in the mail today. California now sends all registered voters a mail in ballot. Plus early voting, and plentiful polling sites, we're pretty lucky here. But it's not that way in all states.
ReplyDeleteI retired in 2008, so my name was not on the ballot, but I was standing outside the polling place for another candidate. There was a woman who was campaigning for a far- right Republican and she was downright scary. She would have banned all Muslims from America if it was up to her. It has only gotten worse. Glad I can vote absentee.
ReplyDeleteI have voted by mail for some years now and I love it. I get the ballot about a month before election. I vote in the next week and take my envelope with ballot to the post office to drop thru the slot. No waiting. Thanks for encouraging everyone to vote!
ReplyDeleteI’ve never had an issue voting here.
ReplyDeleteI have my ballot ready to drop off in one of the many boxes around town. The closest is outside the library. I usually drive by the election office and put it in the drive-up box there, just in case there's a problem with the others. I could stick it in the mail box too, it's a prepaid envelope, but I just don't trust it to get there. That might be a paranoia! I do vote in the minority for my county, so the mail carriers would know what party (if they cared to notice my incoming mail), and maybe, just maybe, they might divert mail. Well, they could! Oregon is all vote by mail. We get the election booklet a few weeks before the ballots, so plenty of time to read over the issues and candidates info.
ReplyDeleteearly voted. :)
ReplyDeleteI am with you 100%. It is our civic duty- and the only way we can maintain our democracy, Alana.
ReplyDelete