Voting Is Not Enough

On November 2nd, 2004, I left my house at 5:30 in the morning.

I waited in this line, with a small child, in the rain.

I cast my vote for John Kerry with a firm sense of righteous purpose. I was voting, after all, against an unjust war. Against a government culture of lies and intimidation. Against government-sanctioned unlawful detention and torture.

Perhaps more importantly, I felt was voting for intellectualism. For reason. For cooperation. For the environment. For education. For civil liberties. For my Constitution. For peace.

It was not enough.

Voting was not enough.

It's not enough this year, either.

States across the nation are expecting record turnout for tomorrow's presidential election. In many battleground states, like my own home state of Missouri, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters will be voting tomorrow for the first time.

Lines at the polls in many states could last for hours. Elderly people, pregnant women, people with disabilities and people who have to bring their children with them to the polls will struggle under these conditions. People who have uncooperative employers may find that they cannot arrange enough time in the workday to cast their votes.

New voters may not know how to find their polling places. Due to record registration overwhelming election officials, some registered voters may never have received a card in the mail telling them where to vote.

New voters and regular voters confused about new laws may not know what kind of ID they need to bring with them to the polls.

What can you do, so late in the game, to help with this situation?

First: if you haven't already, take the time to educate yourself NOW on your own state's voting procedures. Your state Secretary of State's website would probably be a good place to start.

Find out when the polls open and close. Find out what sort of ID voters in your state need to bring to the polls. Find out where your polling place is, if you don't know already. Find out what accommodations may be available at polling places for the elderly or people with disabilities. Find out what the laws are in your state regarding employers' responsibilities toward their employees on election day.

And then, TODAY, make sure your friends, family members and neighbors know all of this information, too.

Second: if you have even an hour to spare on election day, consider how you might help other voters get to the polls and stay in line once they arrive. Can you give an elderly neighbor a ride? Can you offer to babysit a friend's child? Can you cover a coworker's shift?

Can you bring bottled water to voters stuck in long lines? Can you pass out ponchos to voters stuck out in the rain? Can you offer to save a place in line for a voter who needs to run to the restroom?

Voting is not enough. If you have even an hour to spare on election day after you have cast your own ballot, help others vote.

Call your local Obama campaign office and ask how you may be able to help out on election day.

Jaelithe could really use some volunteer help tomorrow at her local Obama office in Missouri. Any takers? Email her at stateofdiscontentATgmail.com.

Comments

[Tina]

If I weren't pregnant and with a toddler to boot, I'd go hold people's places in line so they could use the restroom. That's a great idea! Maybe in 2012 I can do that and pass out some snacks or something :)

[lildb]

i've read you since 2006, Jae, but your words never fail to stir me.

i wish i lived closer so i could help.

i'm so grateful to you for your work, for your efforts, for your staunch determination.

(i'm also quite proud. to know you.)