Our votes, our voices

People died so we could vote, we can't waste it

“The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it. - John Lewis, New York Times “Together, You Can Redeem The Soul of Our Nation.” 

Artichokes, Lobster, & Voting - My Mother’s Approach

Or skip down now to find:

• Voter’s checklist with helpful links and tools

• Tips for protecting your vote

• Inspiration to keep you going!

My mother voted for the first time the year I was born, just after she turned twenty-one. I cast my first vote twenty years later, the year after my son was born. She did not raise me to be a Republican or a Democrat but she raised me to be a voter. 

She did this the way she got me hooked on weird food -- artichokes, avocados, semi-sweet chocolate, lobster -- by eating them in front of me bite by bite and telling me I couldn’t have any until I was old enough to appreciate them. On Election Day I saw my mother’s eyes shine with anticipation when she left the house (or the car where we waited for her). When she returned, she tried to tell us all how important it was to vote even though, in the early days, the only thing I took from it was this: voting was something adults got to do. It was something to look forward to, like getting a driver’s license, or living on my own. 

In Mom’s opinion, if you didn’t vote and didn’t like how things worked out, you forfeited the right to complain. Not that I ever knew if she was happy or sad -- she has always kept her opinions and her votes to herself -- and likes it when we do the same. It makes for a more peaceful Thanksgiving table or whenever we gather as a clan. She doesn’t hesitate, however, to speak out though when it comes to voting:

“We live in a country where we have the right to vote. There are places in the world where people can’t. It is a right, a responsibility, and we damn well better do it.” - My mother to me on this week’s phone call.

And we both know that it is a right that cannot be taken for granted. Women were beaten and jailed but kept fighting until the 19th amendment was passed only thirty-six years before my mother cast her first vote. In his fight for Civil Rights, the late John Lewis and all those working with him faced dogs, arrests, beatings, and death to ensure Black people had the same access to the voting booth that white people have. He spoke to all of us in his posthumous Op-Ed in the New York Times published on July 30 when he wrote the quote I captured above and repeat here:

“The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it. - John Lewis, New York Times “Together, You Can Redeem The Soul of Our Nation.” 

All this is very much on my mind even though it is only August. 

You may not have noticed, but we’re hitting the home stretch to our next national election and, to heighten the drama, it’s happening in the middle of a pandemic which has thrown curve after curve in the usual electoral process. We’re reading scary and sometimes misleading headlines about the U.S. Postal Service which must carry the burden of making sure mail ballots get delivered on time. As counties and states struggle with their budgets they must find a way to make it safe and secure for all of us to vote. And, as always, there are forces seeking to limit who and how many of us turn out because, well, that’s politics.  

The last thing I’m going to do in this space is advocate for a particular party or candidate but I am very interested in making sure that my little squeaky voice joins all those in the U.S. come election time.

Because you are my friends, and you also have friends, this issue of Spark is about helping each other and all those who know make our voices heard — even if we are saying very different things. I’ll plan to update it as more information becomes available and will provide a link back to it in every issue between now and November 3. 

Voter’s Checklist

• Are you registered? Check with your County Registrar of Voters. You can use this link to find yours. Many registrars at the state and county levels have ways to check your registration online. 

• Decide: Mail/Absentee, or in-Person? Your choice is going to depend on your health, the choices available in your state, and or the deadlines associated with each way of voting in your state. For the past four-plus years, my husband and I have received our ballots by mail, filled them out, and brought them in person to our polling place, drop box, or County Registrar of Voters. We make it fun and it takes pressure off the mail delivery folks. Because of Covid-19 all but eight states offer mail ballots, absentee ballots granted without requiring an excuse, or absentee ballots granted for excuses related to Covid-19 concerns. In addition, 30 states or territories offer early voting which can be a chance to vote in person, perhaps with fewer concerns about crowds and contagion. More states may adjust their offerings further if the virus continues to be a concern. 

  • Here is a list of states and territories with the methods of voting currently available in each: https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/state-elections/state-voting-laws-requirements.htm

  • You can find your critical dates and deadlines for every type of voting here and at your County Registrar of Voters website.

• Request Mail or Absentee Ballot NOW - Do this online if at all possible. This link takes you to a page that helps you find your County of Registrar’s page where you can file your form. Need to mail it in? You can prepare the info HERE, print the form, and send it to your County Registrar of Voters.

• Do Your Homework: Know your candidates, know your issues, and start a file of some kind so you can refer back to it. Here are a couple of nonpartisan resources to get started now:

  • Just Facts/VoteSmart - The Voter’s Self-Defense System. A useful tool for voters who like their information about candidates to be geared towards the issues that interest them most. I tested this site out and researched the founders and operators. They live up to their pledge to provide “just the facts” in a bipartisan way with user friendly screens. 

  • League of Women Voters - An excellent source of information in many states and localities for explanations of ballot measures. Another way to find your state or local League is just to google it. 

  • Fill out a “Sample Ballot” ahead of time. UPDATE: This link on the Ballotpedia site allows you to create your own sample ballot in seconds. Your state or county may also send you a sample ballot or voter guide automatically (here’s an article that explains how each state approaches this). Sometimes other organizations provide these.  If not, use this link to ballotpedia’s sample ballot page to make one in seconds or , you can (and should) make your own using information available at most registrar or voter websites or news organizations. List each electoral race and ballot measure that you will find on your ballot when it arrives or when you go to the voting booth. It could look something like this:

• Vote as early as you can. Why wait until November 3 if you don’t have to? Mail ballots can be sent back immediately. Early voting is available in some states well before November 3. If you are voting absentee, you may be able to do so in person, early. To learn the earliest you can vote by mail or in person, check the key dates and deadlines on your County Registrar of Voters’ website. And remember, 30 states or territories offer early voting. You can find a fast route to those dates and deadlines right HERE.

• Bring your sample ballot with you to the voting booth or, if you are voting by mail, make sure you have it right next to you when you sit down to fill out your mail or absentee ballot. Deep breath. Calmly, slowly, darken the circle next to your choices on the ballot or follow the instructions in the voting booth. DON’T RUSH. Follow every instruction on your ballot or on your screen. 

• Once you’ve voted, bug your friends and families to make sure they do too. Help them with any of the info you find here or in your searches. 

• Track your ballot if you can. Some states provide a way to track your ballot. If yours doesn’t, this is a good time to start calling your representatives and election officials to tell them how important your vote is to you. I tracked mine and found out that all of my ballots have been received and counted. It has reduced my fears about voting by mail ballot. 

Tips

• Once you’ve located your County Registrar’s website, bookmark it. Add the phone number in your speed dial/phone contacts. Check back daily for updates on where to vote, deadlines, etc. The virus makes some of these a moving target. No matter how up to date other sites may be, it is always best to go to the source. 

• Remember: when you have questions or requests for forms or ballots, go to the source -- your County Registrar of Voters. 

• Make yourself a little cheat sheet with the number of your U.S. Congressional District along with the numbers of your state, county, and city districts. I have no memory for numbers so I am constantly wondering which candidates are running in my district(s).

• Help each other - I was speaking with a book club one day and learned that the members planned to pool resources on researching the issues and the candidates and share information at their next meeting. This is what Zoom is great for! Throw yourselves a little party with your beverage of choice, pens, and notebooks. 

• Stick with it. Many county offices are closed for walk-ins but are handling requests and information online and by phone. 

• And just added: here is a handy overview of key things to know about voting in each of the 50 states as of the last week of August 2020 from Slate:

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Some Inspiration to Fuel Our Journey

I’ve added these to my TBR list:

“March” - The Slipcase Set. This trilogy of graphic novels by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell was aimed at a younger audience but there is nothing like words and pictures together to show just how hard the struggle was and remains, and how important it is never to give up. If you would like to read the adult and more personal version of John Lewis’ unforgettable journey, here is his memoir “Walking With The Wind.”

“The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight To Win The Vote” by Elaine Weiss which is to be turned into a “television event” at some point. I never fail to be awed by the courage of the women who made it possible for me to use my voice by working to get the 19th Amendment passed 100 years ago this year.

And this to my “to watch” list:

The Vote - a two-part series from American Experience/ PBS about the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S. which mentions organizations I want to know more about: long established clubs and networks of Black women who, met with racism in the suffrage movement, self-organized, worked on their own behalf, and planted seeds for the civil rights movement to come.

That’s it for this week. Next week, we will return to regular programming which will include a Spark author interview with Vanessa Hua, Author of the bestseller “River of Stars” and “Deceit and Other Possibilities.”

If you’d like to share a story about the first time you voted, or what voting means to you, that would be wonderful. Here’s to making our voices heard! And books. Always books. As you know, all of the books mentioned here are featured in our bookshop.org store where every purchase supports independent bookstores and literacy.

Thank you. Be well. See you next week.

Betsy

P.S. And now, your moment of Zen…this is how it’s done