Early voting for this year’s midterm elections started in Virginia
on the 18th. That in itself is a source of gratitude for me because
up until about 20 years ago, the Old Dominion was absolutely dug in on the hill
of Vote Only on Election Day. If you wanted an absentee ballot, or to vote
early, you had to hawk up a valid reason why you could not show up on
Election Day and wait a few hours in a line extending into the neighborhood
like the Baptist God intended.
But ever since I moved back from The Valley They Call
Silicon (where I used to walk half a block to the fire station and didn’t have
to show ID; they just marked my name off a paper register), I’ve been so
grateful that we’ve moved into the late 20th Century.
Having flexibility in how and when you cast your ballot literally
means more people can exercise their constitutional right to vote. Many
citizens work at places that don’t give you time off to vote; fulfilling your
civic obligation can literally cost you money if you have to take time off from
work. Even at places that do, the two hours might not be enough when your precinct
has heavy turnout and the line is long.
(Interestingly, when I worked at an association in D.C.
that did allow two hours on Election Day, one year the head of HR sent round an
email advising employees—we had a greater concentration of Ph.D. scientists than
some mid-sized universities—that the organization knew that polls in
Maryland, D.C. and Virginia opened at 0700 and stayed open until 1900, so they
would view it as taking the piss (I paraphrase) if people availed themselves of
the time off as stated in the manual. That went over well.)
This year voting is especially fraught. Republicans all up
and down the line are frantically trying to restrict who votes. State
legislatures are gerrymandering districts to skew right. Where that doesn’t go
far enough, they’re closing polling stations in Democratic districts and
removing ballot drop boxes to make it more difficult for people there to vote. Many
states (mostly South of the Mason-Dixon Line) have made it illegal to provide
food or water for people waiting in line to vote in hopes that will discourage
the elderly and infirm from showing up.
The Kleptocrat has demanded that states turn over voting
rolls (so far every one has been quashed in the courts) and that the USPS dick
with ballots sent out and returned by mail. (So far it seems like that also has
been stymied by the courts.) He’s proclaimed that he’s going to send federal
troops and ICE to (Democratic) polling stations on Election Day to “police”
them. Meaning: intimidate and even abduct anyone who doesn’t look white enough.
There are even reports that he’s going to declare martial
law in an attempt to cancel the elections altogether. This, of course, would be
met with a tsunami of law suits and provoke a constitutional crisis. (For one
thing, the 119th Congress expires on 3 January 2027 and without
duly-elected Representatives, there’s no House. Now, some might say that such a
thing would be an improvement, or at least that no one would notice any
difference in productivity, but this would still be a crisis.)
For the record, the United States of America has held
elections through every crisis in our history, including two world wars and a
civil war when armed enemy territory began at the Potomac River, a couple of
miles from the US Capitol. Having a corrupt dementia-rotted sitting president,
a spineless Congress and an ideology-driven SCOTUS is indeed disastrous, but
that’s no reason to cancel elections.
In fact, elections are the start of the solution to this dumpster
fire. Which every Republican understands; that’s why they’re so desperate to
restrict and repress voting.
Anyway—I voted last week. As I cast my ballot (not a whole
lot of choice, really; the Democratic incumbents for Senator and Representative
essentially have a sinecure in my district, which is better than saying the
same for Republicans, but I’d still prefer that they have a lean and hungry
look), I thought about the millions of people around the world who would marvel
at such a thing. Walked up, handed over my ID (which I understand from
Republicans I have to do when I buy groceries?), got my ballot and registered
my opinion on candidates and state and county measures.
That, dear reader, is a miracle that generations of our
forebears have wrought with their blood and treasure. That it is under threat
from the highest office holders in the land is despicable. But I’m grateful for
the privilege.
©2026 Bas Bleu
