Voting Isn’t Scary or Hard: Answers for New and Sporadic Voters

Welcome to this new and ongoing page at Vote This Time. It will answer practical questions aimed at informing and reassuring people about voting as the midterm elections approach.

Here is the ongoing list of questions I’ve collected so far. These may be combined, eliminated, switched around and/or added to.

• Is what we are going through now normal?
• What should I do if I am told I am can’t vote or in some other way confronted at the polling place?
• What are some sites where electoral issues are explained in simple language?
• What are some ways to minimize the stress and physical demands of standing in line for extended hours?
• Why is it good to vote ahead of election day?
• Which states have more voting than in person on election day?
• What is the SAFE Act and why is everybody making such a big deal about it?
• Is voting dangerous?
• What happens if I am on line when voting ends?

Please contact me with any issues or topics to cover under this rather broad umbrella. Also let me know about mistakes I’ve made or places where the commentary should be expanded. (Image above: LaurenShiplett via Flickr)

Is What We are Going Through Now Normal?

It makes sense to ask the big question as voting in the midterm elections approach: Is this normal?

First, the context. Many people already know the answer to that question. But it’s important to address because there is so much more of a focus on the physical act of voting now than just a few years ago. It’s understandable that people whose interests lie elsewhere to be concerned about this unfortunate new normal.

Folks like me spend hours online searching for the slightest bit of news. We say borderline self-parody things such as “The attorney general in Rhode Island just sued the administration quash subpoenas in such and such a case! Wow, now we’ve got him!” and “The president’s approval rating is down 3 points this month! The collapse is happening!”

On one hand, it’s a bit sad. We, as a group, were chosen last in pickup basketball games when we were kids. Many of us are sports nerds. One extraordinarily important thing that makes all that nerdiness and obsessiveness worthwhile is that we see the threat to our country that the current administration poses. It’s awkward, but something worth being obsessed over.

Many folks reacted to these dire and troubling times by tuning out. Others simply are not naturally obsessive, have too much on their plates to worry about politics, assume it’s business as usual or are obsessed by superhero movies, cat videos on Instagram, pickleball or other fun things. Political obsessives simply chose something that’s very important. It’s also a never-ending, complex and potentially stress-induced health-threatening rabbit hole.

People in this group seem surprised when they talk to folks who don’t pay attention to politics and are sporadic or non-voters who perhaps even aren’t award of the approaching midterm elections. This is particularly so in this era because Donald Trump is everywhere all at once and is upfront about wanting to change many pillars of American democracy. “Why aren’t people listening to him?” we ask as we check in on early polling on the North Dakota or New Mexico primaries.

The context for the answer to the question is aimed at establishing that to somebody who follows this stuff closely the answer is clear: What we are going through is far from normal. Indeed, it’s unique in American history.

The good news is that those not obsessed by politics seem to be starting to truly understand that something is deeply wrong and that we are in danger.

The president has broken dozens of laws, made the U.S. look silly, coopted and weaponized parts of our government that were more or less objective and nonpartisan for two-and-a-half centuries, sold pardons, been gratuitously cruel to his adversaries, stolen classified documents, systematically tried to reduce trust in our elections, alienated our allies, defiled the While House, gotten us into what looks a hell of a lot like a forever war and done things that experts say could break our economy. Richard Nixon, U.S. Grant (actually his administration, he was a great and honest man) and others have gone over the line. But there is no comparison.

Donald Trump will not leave America as he found it. The silver lining is that we now know what needs to be fixed. (Whether we do so is another question.) That, however, feels a bit like clutching at straws. Our job in November is to slow the administration down a bit (by winning the House of Representatives or Senate) or a lot (by winning both).

New voters and sporadic voters need to understand three things: What is happening isn’t normal, the gravity of the situation is dire and it is far from hopeless.

But we are starting to run out of chances. We are being dragged, inch by inch, into a very difficult place, a place from which it will be difficult to recover. The midterm elections on November 3 are extraordinarily important. Please vote.