Tag Archives: voting by mail

It’s getting closer.

It may not feel like it, given how this year has played out, but trust me. It’ll be here sooner than you realize.

Election Day 2020 less than three months away. In any other year, of which 2020 is not, we’d already be sick of election news. We’d be whining about how much energy it has sucked up from the news cycle and how ugly it has made public discourse. You don’t need to convince me. I remember the 2016 election vividly.

Now, I almost envy those days. At least during that clusterfuck, we could still go to a movie theater and hang out in bars without wearing masks.

The sad truth is 2020 is a year unlike any other. There aren’t many stories, at least in the United States, that could usurp the news surrounding a Presidential Election. The worst pandemic in over 100 years is one of them. That has been our focus. That has been our chief concern, and for good reason. It’ll continue to be our main concern, well into 2021.

However, there’s still an election set for November 3, 2020. Even if you’re not registered to vote or living in the United States, you’re aware of just how high the stakes are. Every election can change the course of history, but few have ever occurred during a situation like this.

Set aside, for a moment, your political leanings. Set aside who you voted for last time. This election is pivotal in ways that are impossible to overstate, so I won’t bother trying. Instead, I’m just going to offer a simple message to everyone who is eligible to vote in this election.

Start preparing. Be proactive. Act now.

I say this message because, just recently, I requested an absentee ballot from my local election office. I did so because I currently do not know whether my usual polling place will be open or sufficiently staffed. In most years, that’s not an issue. Again, this is not most years.

I have every intention of voting in this election, by whatever means I can legally do so. I have not voted with an absentee ballot since I was in college, but I am trying to be proactive. I’ve every intention of making sure I have everything I need to vote by the first of October. Even then, I’m going to check in with my polling place, just to make sure my vote is cast.

I encourage everyone to do the same and not just because voting by mail has become a hot button issue. This situation really is unprecedented. We’ve had to vote during times of war, economic depression, and social unrest. We haven’t had to vote during a pandemic in 100 years. There’s no playbook or precedent that anyone alive today can follow. We’re going into this scared, uncertain, and half-blind.

That’s why now is the time to educate yourself on voting by mail and casting an absentee ballot. The information is out there. John Oliver even did a segment on it in his show, Last Week Tonight. Here’s the clip, in case you haven’t seen it.

There are also plenty of online resources to utilize. Check out this website to learn more about your jurisdictions laws and regulations regarding absentee ballots. If you still intend to vote in person, make plans now. Whether that involves taking time off work or coordinating with your community, do not procrastinate. Start now. Make a plan. Make a backup plan. Then, make a backup plan to your backup plan.

This isn’t your fantasy football draft.

This is the most critical and integral part of democracy.

The United States already has a poor record of voter turn-out. It has an even worse record when it comes to making those votes count, due to the electoral college. The only way to compensate for the deficiencies in this system is just get out and vote in overwhelming numbers. It’s the only way you can exert what little political voice you have.

Make no mistake. Those who currently benefit in the existing system will only benefit more if you don’t vote. If you are not benefiting or feel left behind, then the worst thing you can possibly do is not vote. That’s essentially giving those in power right now a free gift and getting punished in return. There is literally no downside to casting your vote this November.

I’m sorry if my words sound like hyperbole. I’m not trying to sound like a doomsayer. I’m just trying to encourage others to be proactive. This is not a normal year. This is not a normal election. If it’s going to work in any capacity, we must be proactive. The very ideals of our democracy depend on it.