(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
I’m so thankful that millions and millions of voters peacefully and forthrightly made their voices heard in the United States midterm elctions, making clear that we stand for democracy, decency, and neighborliness.
This post is part of One-Liner Wednesday, brought to you be Linda Hill, a Canadian blogger-friend. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/11/04/one-liner-wednesday-procrastination-hurts/
Vote for Democracy #60
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
Dropping off our ballots at the election office was a breeze.
We had filled out our absentee ballots at home and followed all the instructions for signing, dating, sealing the inner and outer envelopes. We were also lucky that our ballots this cycle were relatively short with no propositions.
The two hardest parts were finding a parking place in the vicinity of the County Office Building and having to go through metal detector and pocketbook check, which I had forgotten would be part of the deal.
At the Election Office, a friendly clerk was happy to take our ballot envelopes. She opened the outer envelopes and verified our signatures with the voter rolls. We were happy that she did this because it meant there wouldn’t be any problems with having our votes counted.
We asked when they would be tallied because New York State laws used to be that all absentee ballots were held for more than a week after election day before being counted. Because of the pandemic, a lot of laws had changed, so we weren’t sure what would happen now. She told us that they opened the accumulated absentee ballots on Tuesdays and Fridays. This allows them to mark the received ballots in the system so that no one can show up at the polls on election day pretending to be us. They can begin counting the ballots on election day, so our votes will be part of the tallies reported after the polls close. We were happy that they would be part of the count on the day, especially because a couple of our races will probably be close. The more absentee ballots arriving early, the less likely that we’ll have to wait an extended time for results.
This is the first time in ages that we have voted by absentee ballot, but my surgery date will have us out of state for not only election day but also the early in-person voting dates. (We were grateful that we finally have early in-person voting in New York, which was a silver lining of the 2020 vote during the pandemic.)
So, another reminder for US citizens to check and make sure you are registered and have accurate information on the polling/ballot policies that apply to your home precinct. Make your plan and vote! It’s very important to make your voice heard. It takes all of us to make democracy work effectively.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “breeze.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/10/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-october-3-2026/
I’m excited because my absentee ballot arrived today so I can fill it out and bring it to the Elections Office before I have to go out of town for my surgery.
This reminder to US citizens to make and follow through on their plan to vote is brought to you in conjunction with Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/09/30/one-liner-wednesday-i-have-a-spider-in-my-kitchen/
Vote for Democracy #59
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
Today is National Voter Registration Day in the United States. The United States does not have the greatest participation in elections, so it’s good to have a day to focus on this.
Some things you can do today:
Registration: If you are not registered, it’s a great day to do it! The National Voter Registration Day site has a page which links you to the proper procedure to register in your state or to update a registration if you’ve had a name or address change. You can also check out your local election office. When searching, look for web addresses that end in .gov. Do NOT visit VoteSafe! It is a scam that will take and sell your information and will not give you accurate voting information.
Plan to Vote: If you are registered and have checked to make sure that your registration is accurate, make a plan to vote. Depending on your state, you may receive or request a ballot be sent through the mail which can then be filled out and mailed back or dropped off at an election office, dropbox, or polling place. You might have in-person early voting in a centralized location in the days or weeks leading up to election day. You might want to vote in person at your precinct’s polling place on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 3 in 2026. For in-person voting, whether early or on Election Day, double-check on your polling location and hours.
For example, I know that I will be out of the state on Election Day, so I have already put in a request with my county’s election office to have a ballot mailed to me. I plan to fill it out, carefully following all the instructions, and bring it in person to the election office before I leave town. If I’m not well enough to bring it in person, I will put it in the mail but weeks early to avoid possible mail slowdowns.
Community Outreach: Encourage others to register and/or make their own plans to vote. See if you can help at a registration drive. Let people know that voting is important for our democracy. Offer help to anyone who might have a barrier to voting, such as a need for transportation, computer help searching for official election information, caregiving responsibilities, etc.
In many other democracies, registration is automatic and voting is mandatory. The United States makes things much more complicated and our participation rate bears that out. For our democracy to function better, we need to hear from everyone through our free speech rights and from citizens through their votes in local, state, and national races and referenda.
Please share your experiences with registering and voting in the United States or in democracies throughout the world in the comments here and/or at whatever opportunity presents itself. Let’s make our voices heard!
Vote for Democracy #57
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
The United States is facing even more serious challenges to our election system.
The US Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Callais has set off a spate of redistricting in southern states which, while they are being labeled as partisan, are effectively race-based, even though primary elections are very close, or, as in Louisiana, already underway. All of these states are looking to cut down the number of Democrats and Black elected officials.
This morning, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the April vote that would have redistricted that state and potentially added more Democrats to the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November.
It’s very discouraging because Trump and the Republicans are actively trying to stay in power through manipulating the electoral system, even though their policies are increasingly harmful and unpopular.
It’s time for citizens to take back their electoral power. Given that new district lines will make it more difficult for Democrats and people of color to elect their preferred candidates, voter turnout will be crucial. It may, though, not be sufficient to overcome these new obstacles. Voters who are registered as Republicans need to vote against all Republican nominees who favor these unfair and unconstitutional policies and help elect officials who believe in the principle of one person, one vote and who will uphold our civil liberties and rights.
I admit that this is a discouraging time in our efforts to uphold democracy but we must keep working on it. As Joyce Vance titled her recent book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable.
For those in the US – and elsewhere – who are looking for non-corporate, truthful coverage of what is happening here, I suggest Marc Elias’s Democracy Docket, especially for voting/election issues, and Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen’s The Contrarian.
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays and/or Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/22/one-liner-wednesday-jusjojan25-the-22nd-ill-try/
Vote for Democracy #24
Under the United States Constitution, January 6th is the date that Congress meets in joint session to certify the electoral college votes for president and vice president that took place the prior November.
Today, this certification happened smoothly and quickly, marking the peaceful transfer of power that had been the norm in the US until it was shattered on January 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the Capitol after weeks of unfounded claims by Donald Trump and his team that the election had been stolen from him, even though government officials around the country had certified that the election results were fair and valid and dozens of court cases challenging the results had failed.
Members of Congress had to be evacuated to safer locations, but about 140 police officers were wounded in the assault, with five deaths being attributed to the attack and its aftermath. Donald Trump waited for hours to ask his supporters to leave the Capitol. When Congress re-convened later that night, there were still 147 Republicans who voted against certifying all the electors, which was unconscionable, given the threat that the riot had posed to them and their colleagues. (To read the most comprehensive report about the January 6th, 2021 attack, please visit this link, which has the full report from the House Select Committee plus supporting materials, such as court documents, videos, interviews, and depositions.)
Despite all of this, Donald Trump managed to convince enough voters that the attack didn’t happen at all, that it was a “day of love,” and that the people who had been convicted at trial or had pleaded guilty in the attack planning or execution were political prisoners, that he won the 2024 election which was certified today.
Trump has indicated that he may pardon all or most of the convicted after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20th. He has threatened to arrest the people in Congress and the Justice Department who investigated the attack and his role in it.
I will continue to be part of the millions of Americans who believe in the truth, the Constitution, and the rule of law. Trump and his Republican gang cannot erase the mountain of evidence against them. Bizarrely, one of the things that Trump is claiming the members of the House Select Committee did was to destroy all the evidence; the link above shows that they instead made the evidence public.
Don’t fall for Trump’s lies about January 6th, 2021 or anything else. Look at the evidence. Find the truth and proclaim it.
We are going to need to do it a lot to get through these next four years with our democracy functioning.
*****
Join us for Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/06/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-6th-2025/
closing arguments
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
With Election Day only a few days away, the two major party candidates for the US presidency have made their closing arguments to the American people. Because of the availability of early voting, vote-by-mail, and absentee ballots, millions have already cast their ballots, but many more millions will vote on Tuesday, November 5, and some eligible voters will not vote at all. The United States does not usually have high voter turnout and it will be interesting to see if this year is different. Levels of early voting have been very high, so perhaps election-day voting will be, too.
Vice President Kamala Harris gave her speech in front of a crowd of about 75,000 at the Ellipse in Washington DC, with the White House behind her, the same location where Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Jan.6, 2021, calling on his supporters to march to the Capitol where a violent mob broke in and tried to stop Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
In contrast to Trump’s diviseness, Harris gave a message of unity, explaining how she would be a president for all the people who would listen to differing viewpoints. She talked about her policy proposals for the economy and health care, including reproductive rights and elder care, and shared her biography and experience prior to the vice-presidency. While she was making a contrast with Trump, she was concentrating on a positive, unifying message, which is important as she has been reaching out to Republicans and other conservatives who are dedicated to the Constitution and the rule of law and are repulsed by Trump’s attacks on those principles.
Trump’s closing argument rally was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City which was at its capacity of 19,500. The rally went on for hours; the video link I shared here is the final 3 1/4 hours, which includes all of Trump’s 78-minute speech. The event was designed for Trump’s base of supporters and was quite openly racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant, and divisive. Trump and the other speakers continued to vilify Trump’s opponents, attacking them personally in often vulgar terms and lying about them and their positions. There is no sense of working together to solve problems, only of seeking vengeance on anyone who disagrees with Trump.
It’s terrifying, especially because so much of Trump’s rhetoric is violent and we all know what happened four years ago when Trump tried to steal an election he had lost.
Donald Trump’s vision of America is dark place of grievance where a few rich and powerful men rule. Instead, I embrace Kamala Harris’s vision of the United States as nation of people of good will who work together within the structures of our laws and government to solve problems and uphold the common good, as the Preamble to our Constitution terms it to “promote the general welfare.”
I hope that all eligible voters will look to those values as they vote not only for president but for other federal, state, and local offices. We must vote to protect our rights and our democratic principles so we can continue to build vibrant, caring, and responsible communities.
Together, we can do this!
Vote!
I voted!
(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)
While I traditionally vote in person on Election Day, due to the unpredictability of my health these past months, I decided to vote this morning at a polling place in my local library.
Prior to the pandemic, New York State did not have early in-person voting available. Absentee voting was restricted to those with health problems, those who would be travelling out of the county on Election Day, or those temporarily living away from home, such as college students. One could return ballots by mail or drop them off at the county election office. The pandemic brought in early in-person voting, although in a condensed timeframe (this year, October 26-November 3), and no-excuse absentee ballots. Still, New York’s ballot access is still more restrictive than many other states.
I feel relieved to have my ballot safely cast and ready to be added to the tally that will be announced after the polls close on November 5th, Election Day. It was important to me to have my vote counted with those cast in person on Election Day. Absentee ballots in New York are not counted until days later and I prefer to have my vote included in the tally reported on election night.
I voted to uphold democratic values and the common good and hope that all eligible voters will do the same, whether they already have voted, are getting ready to vote early in-person or by mail, or are voting on Election Day.
Democracy works best when we elect serious, thoughtful, principled people to office who will enact policies that help all people to thrive. This applies to local, state, and national offices.
Vote for Democracy in 2024!
I knew I wouldn’t have the brainpower to write in stream of consciousness what I needed to say today about the upcoming election in the US, so I wisely wrote that post in the conventional way – and am shamelessly sharing it here.
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to use a word that starts with kn. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/10/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-19-2024/
