Why I’m Not Voting Early
Election Day is like the dump on Saturday, only better.
Everyone will be there! It’s an exercise in civic duty with a holiday air. You and your neighbors sorting through the trash. What’s not to like?
I look forward to shaking hands with would-be representatives on the way in. I enjoy the queue-chat with folks I might not see all that often. I relish announcing my particulars to the roll-checking volunteers. I smile scouting the line of booths for an open cubby, slipping inside and taking my place in the patriotically stripped Chinese dragon. I challenge myself to fill out the ballot right the first time. I thrill when tallying machines snatch the cards from my hand, sucking my votes into their bellies for digestion. I feel proud as any first grader when handed my “I Voted” sticker. And for dessert, I exit along tables of petitioners, learn their passions and, maybe, sign.
How could I miss that? I wouldn’t, unless I really had to.
I’m grateful for early voting. I am. I’m glad you no longer need a doctor’s note saying your brain is being removed on Election Day to obtain an absentee ballot.
It’s bogus voting doesn’t take place on a weekend or national holiday, so work doesn’t interfere. It sucks that the number of polling places are being reduced, making for longer lines and even more inconvenient voting. It is hateful that honest voters are challenged on Election Day, denied their rights in the thirteenth hour. Early voting is a blessing, because these problems are very real.
If I doubted I would be able to vote on Election Day, believe me, I would be voting early. But this year things are looking good.
See you at the polls!
