Why I will not be voting this November....

For the first time in......decades(?) I will not be voting on election day.
This is because I was informed that I have to be working out of town....all day. (**)
-so I voted in-person, absentee.

The REASON I have to work out of town, all day is because my county has a record number of absentee ballots that have already been cast and I have to report for duty before the polls open and we will be struggling to process all of those votes by COB, Tuesday.
I do not live in one of the 12-14 swing states, so there is little doubt that my state will be able to declare a winner about 12 minutes after the polls close, but some people seem to think that there is value in the popular vote number - so 'every vote is precious.'

Honestly, even if you do NOT live on free soil you should be banking your vote anyway,
BECAUSE:

1. You KNOW your vote will be cast and counted.
No last minute car, family, dog, weather issues to navigate!

2. In most functioning states your absentee vote will be cast and counted day of, and you will know by EOD the unofficial results AND the number of outstanding mail-in ballots.
In some cases for close races, these might push the actual results out 5 days or so.
(ask me how I know..... )

3. In most cases in adult states, you can contact your county clerk's office after the election and get an affirmation that your vote was cast and counted.
If you do NOT vote - if might be fun to call and ask them ANYWAY......


I do NOT recommend mail-in absentee ballots - because....the USPS.
TRUST ME.
I spent FOUR DAYS last year as a subpoenaed witness because the USPS pooch-screwed enough ballots to cause a bench trial following a recount!!!
You do NOT want to trust something as important as your ballot to the USPS!!!!
EVER!!!

If you're a UOCAVA voter, use Fedex, email, fax, or tie it to a carrier pigeon.

So....
MY vote is cast.
I will be in the room when it is counted (I will have to recuse myself from processing my ballot.)

(**)

There are numerous disadvantages of working for a unionized company, and I have experienced them ALL.
HOWEVER (comma!!!)
One advantage is the fact that most unionized companies that have survived since 08 recognize that they cannot keep you from voting, and in fact most of them give you paid time off to vote.
Some companies (like my beloved company) go above and beyond the contract and pay you to work the polls - AND let you keep the stipend that your state or county provides.
Four times a year can fund one heckuva Christmas fund.

-just sayin'

EVEN IF YOU ARE OUT OF TOWN UNEXPECTEDLY.
(Like.....disaster recovery following a late October hurricane named Zeta, for example......)

If you think you're not going to be able to vote in a week, and it's work related close this browser NOW and start raising a stink.
There's a pretty good chance that you can vote.

 

Fiscally, and in a lot of other areas that's true in the other four Commonwealths and 47 states.......

 

Beats: Belt and Road.....

 

WHO outside the commonwealth of VA considers Virginia to be close to 'close?'

The talking heads consider the 'battlegrounds' to be : Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Nevada.
If a state (or Commonwealth) squanders a 10-point margin, then that points to political malpractice by the party that WON the state (or commonwealth) by 10 points, 4 years ago.

I'm a squid.
I actually LIKE the Pub in that race!
But However (comma!)

Tim has something like 8 megabucks cash on hand in OCTOBER.
The rich have spoken.

 

On a serious note, if you didn't actually hand your vote to an actual poll worker - most states provide for an affirmative method to validate a physical vote was physically receipted and accounted for by a real live physical poll worker.
DO THAT.

NOTE!
This is fundamentally different than counting or casting votes.
In many states, if you are forced to submit an absentee vote then your vote is not actually CAST until somebody affirms that it is a properly submitted vote, and then it is case and counted.
Seal logs, precinct reports, envelops, ballots (blank, spoiled, duplicated, etc...) are retained for the 'afterglow.'
When I walk into my county courthouse next Tuesday I will know exactly how many people have voted absentee, have a list of who they are, and by COB (even if it's midnight) Tuesday we will have a final tally of every vote that was cast BOTH in-person and absentee - excluding mail-in votes that didn't make the 1700 cutoff for one reason or another.

Mail-ins are another issue, and I will follow the law, regardless of my 'feels.'
I think we're going to see some evolution on that soon.

There was a time that I was disenfranchised because of my military status, but this is 2024 and they fixed that with UOCAVA.
If you qualify to cast a vote under that system and you do not get it in by the cutoff then you probably should be judged medically or cognitively UNFIT to cast a vote.

(or hold office - but THAT too is another subject!)

 

I've always thought that the commonwealth of KY punched above their street cred when it comes to elections.
Like my beloved home state......
Deadlines is deadlines!

So....vote early.
Vote OFTEN - like, Every Election!

 

Stop voting and there will be fewer candidates.....

It's humorous to me that with '$science' you have to have a transcript from an 'accredited' school to be a 'peer.'
However (comma!) somebody who has never worked in a polling place, MAY not have even VOTED in a polling place.....somebody who does not know what a cast ballot, spoiled ballot, duplicated ballot, rejected ballot, under count, over count, miscount, etc... can use the term "misinformation" with SOME presumption of authority is taken remotely seriously.

Twain was right!