In the coffee room, I was discussing Rachel Maddow’s description of long voting lines as a kind of poll tax, and I told my co-worker that lines were four hours long in some places (longer, sometimes, but I never got a chance to say that). And she said if it was four hours long, she wouldn’t vote.
And I was sort of stunned. I mean, this is an educated, upper-middle class woman in reasonably good health, with a good and tolerant job and whose children are grown. In other words, no reason not to vote except inconvenience. But she wouldn’t wait for four hours?
I get that the voting lines are wrong and fucked up. But give up your franchise? For convenience? I’m just shocked. Just. Shocked.
Your vote is the irreducible unit of a democracy. It’s the piece of you that is an American. And when long lines drive away people who have to work or care for children or who have disabilities that prevent them from standing there, then that is a problem. But if those aren’t issues? FUCKING VOTE.
That is all.
