Duty
Our mail-in ballots for the November 3rd Presidential election arrived today. My husband and I sat together and gingerly opened the envelopes, careful to avoid damaging them in any way.
“I feel like I’m opening a sacred text.”
“Me too,” he said. “People paid for this right with their lives.”
We view the right to vote as a sacred trust, a primary responsibility for citizenship, and never more than in the election of 2020, which will occur in the midst of major political attempts to sabotage the use of mail-in ballots. Vote-by-mail programs date back to the Civil War and have long been used by U.S. Armed Forces. As of July 2020, five states hold elections almost entirely by mail, plus postal voting is an option in thirty-three states, including the District of Columbia.
Now, the reality-warping powers of social media are being used to spread fear and suspicion on the entire mail-in process, without presenting evidence of a factual basis. Words like voter fraud, totally rigged, corrupt and scandalous reverberate in daily tweets, along with threats of severe legal consequences for cheaters and a warning that foreign countries will print excess ballots. It’s an exhausting, daily assault on our senses, disrespectful to honest citizens and the integrity of our allies. Misinformation disregards a process that is the bedrock of our democracy.
For a number of years my husband and I enjoyed working at the polls. We were assigned to a precinct that was home to many senior citizens and a large population of immigrants who are now naturalized citizens. Veterans came, proudly displaying their branches of service with medals, a jacket or cap. Elderly citizens came in wheel chairs, with a walker or a cane, or on the arm of a friend or family member. They had been voting for years and could not fathom being unable to cast their ballot. Naturalized citizens came with their children in hand, and proudly asked for the “I Voted Today” sticker after casting their ballots. We were so moved by their committments and will never forget them. Not casting a ballot would dishonor their memories.
We filled out our ballots and hand-carried them to a ballot box in the doorway of the Election Center, carefully guarded by a staff member. We left feeling relieved that this very important task was complete.
