Vote now! Democracy isn’t just a spectator sport

IT’S OFFICIAL: MY VOTE HAS BEEN COUNTED. And it feels good to know I’ve fulfilled my role in our struggling democracy, even from my remote island.

Eleven days ago I deposited my ballot in a drop box in Anacortes as I was on my way to Seattle for a visit with my daughter. Anacortes is in neighboring Skagit County, whereas I live in San Juan County. But getting to Anacortes was more convenient than boating over to Lopez Island to use my county’s drop box, and our state’s voting rules say that if you use an official ballot drop box anywhere in the state of Washington, your ballot will find its way to your home county for processing.

I was a little apprehensive about that, so I’ve followed up by checking the state’s website, votewa.gov, which enables you to track the status of your ballot.

It took a little while for the wheels of democracy to turn, but today I got this message:

Yes, I’ve redacted my voting address. You can’t be too careful about protecting your voting rights. That’s why I used the drop box rather than pop my mail-in ballot in the post box: These days I don’t entirely trust Donald Trump’s postal service. It’s only because of a Supreme Court ruling against him that we kept our mail-in balloting rights this fall. His scheme was for the U.S. Postal Service to block delivery if you couldn’t prove your citizenship. (And if you trust the Trump regime to properly handle that litmus test, I definitely have some swampland I’d like to sell you.)

Meanwhile, our state’s chief elections officer, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, is urging voters to use drop boxes this week rather than trust the post office to postmark ballots in a timely manner. (Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday’s election day, November 3, in order to be counted.) Dropping your ballot in the mail on Election Day, or even earlier, does not guarantee it will be postmarked November 3, Hobbs cautions. Sign in to votewa.gov to find a personalized list of nearby drop boxes for your ballot.

If you live outside Washington State but can vote early, vote as soon as you can. The closer you wait to Election Day the more likely you’ll encounter federal agents slowing things down at your polling place, and possibly turning some voters away.

If I manage to cast my ballot from my little rock, anybody can do it. 🙂