Thread by @spdustin

As some of you may remember, I spoiled my mail-in ballot. Rather than risk a mail delay and requesting a new one, I planned to surrender it and vote early, in person.

It struck me how lucky and privileged I am to live in a (mostly) blue state, and in a (mostly) white county.

1/

After arriving at the county clerk’s office—where early voting has been live for three weeks—I waited in line to surrender my mail-in ballot. By “in line,” I mean, “I waited three minutes to be helped by a county official.”

I then waited for them to process my replacement.

2/

And by “I then waited,” I mean, “it took one minute.” The line behind me was…one person, a young Black woman. I was handed a replacement ballot, my new voting buddy and I gave each other a crinkled-eyes smile from behind our masks, and I filled it out.

3/

When I took my hand-marked paper ballot to the scanning ballot box, I noticed a digital counter showing the number of ballots scanned. The four other machines—for different precincts—also had counters. I asked the poll worker when the counter was started.

4/

“That’s the number of ballots filed since the start of early voting,” he said. That was three weeks ago. The total number was about 10% of the registered voters in my county.

I fed my ballot from, making sure the counter increased by one. So did the poll worker.

5/

“We can’t give out stickers, due to health department rules this year,” he said. That was fine. I know that I voted, and that it was counted. My new voting buddy had just scanned her ballot, and we exchanged another crinkly-eyed smile behind our masks.

6/

“That was so much easier than I expected,” she said.

“Right? There are twelve-hour lines to vote in Georgia, and it took us what, ten minutes?”

“Not even,” she replied.

Not even ten minutes. I thought of those half-day lines of (mostly) Black voters in Georgia.

7/

I thought of the hours-long lines at other polling sites. “A sign of enthusiasm in the early turnout,” some say. A system that doesn’t want enthusiastic Black voters to participate, I say.

I thought of the single ballot drop box in Harris County.

8/

I thought of the GOP placing unofficial (and very illegal) ballot drop boxes in California. Of the witness signature rules (zone witness) for mail-in ballots in Virginia, Alaska, and Wisconsin. Of the Alaska rule requiring 2 witness signatures.

Some have suspended the rules.

9/

There are ongoing battles—led by the GOP—over suspending witness signature requirements leading to confusion and angst.

In fact, it’s GOP-led state legislatures that created many of these barriers to voting. Barriers faced, in most cases, by Black and Latinx voters.

10/

But me? A white voter living in a (mostly) blue state in a (mostly) white county? It took me ten minutes to vote in person.

“Not even.”

If you can vote early and in person, please do so. And if you live in a state where that isn’t so easy, you have my respect and thanks.

11/

And, please, don’t stop fighting for the voting rights of all Americans. Work to educate voters in those states on the challenges faced by non-white voters, so they can vote for elected officials that will pass truly equitable laws regarding elections.

Finally: VOTE.

12/end