24 October 2020

Vote Early and Vote Blue

To be perfectly clear, when I write #VoteBlue, Vote Blue top to bottom, and #VoteBlueDownBallot, I mean:

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Vote for the Democrat running to be Senator in the Senate.

Vote for the Democrat running to be Representative in the House of Representatives.

Vote for the Democrats running for state offices (e.g. governor, attorney general, state senator, state representative...).

Vote for the Democrats running for local offices (e.g. district attorney, mayor, selectmen...).

Simply put, Vote for the Democrat(s) wherever possible on your ballot.

If you're saying, "But, Claire, isn't deciding who to vote for more nuanced than that?"

For now (and likely many years to come), no.

Republicans accept (and some promote) racism, police brutality, abuse of immigrants, family separation, violence against women, and misogyny. They use their power to deny health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and make it harder for people who disagree with them to vote.

They misuse their power: they refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court saying it was too close to the 2016 election (it was 11 months before) but are now rushing through the process to get their extreme right-wing nominee Amy Coney Barrett appointed to the Supreme Court before the election when people are already voting. She will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, limit voting rights, and most importantly, will vote in favor of Trump if election result disputes make it to the Supreme Court.

Republicans have shown they are bullies and hypocrites. If you say, "Not all Republicans...," well, most of the time they fall in with the party line so they won't be targeted themselves which amounts to complicity.

For me, civil rights (excluding our egregious gun violence problem stemming in part from the 2nd amendment) and human rights are non-negotiable. Until the GOP thinks likewise, Republicans are off the menu.

So:

Vote for Democrats!

1. Register to vote or double-check your voter registration.

Some state's deadlines have already passed and others are coming up fast, so do this now!

2. Plan how you will vote in person. Early in person is better. Or request your mail in ballot now (time is running out for the mail option).

3. Vote Blue!

Always remember polls do not decide elections, VOTERS do.

Need to register to vote, check your registration, request a mail in ballot, find out where to vote? This site is easy to navigate: https://iwillvote.com/

Vote in person and vote early if you can. Know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

If you're voting by mail, fill it out and send it back immediately (better yet, drop it off yourself). Follow every instruction to make sure your vote will count.