I voted! As so many have this year, I requested a mail-in ballot. I printed it out as soon as I got it, and as so many have also done, I procrastinated. My dad, from whom I learned procrastination, didn’t. Instead of waiting for a time when it was convenient to drive over to the ballot drop-off box, he made a special trip. He called me right after. He said he cried when he put the ballot in the box. I understood, but thought it was a little silly. Until I finally made my own trip to drop off my ballot. I was not expecting that lump in my throat. I didn’t actually cry, but that was more because I had to go grocery shopping right afterward than anything.
For my dad, it was related to his personal emotional investment and the work he did to further the civil rights movements of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and it hurts him to see how far backward we have fallen in just a few years. For me, it is my emotional investment in the institutions of this country. Educationally, professionally, and recreationally, I have immersed myself in government and politics. To experience my assumptions about the strength of our institutions exposed as untrue has been beyond difficult. I think that for both my father and me, carrying out the one thing we can do to make a change triggered an emotional release.
I know we’re not alone. One of the TV pundits, much more experienced and jaded than I, said she had a similar reaction. So, if you voted and had a reaction like we did, know that you’re not alone. And if you haven’t voted yet (with more at stake than most, even in an incredibly high-stakes cycle, I am hoping all chronic and autoimmune patients will find a way to vote come hell or high water), don’t be surprised if your throat tightens a little.
Sidebar: Beware the ‘red mirage’
A quick note as we approach election day. Anyone who is a regular news watcher is aware that we are not likely to have a definitive outcome on election night as we usually do. For a variety of reasons. This year, an estimated half or more of the electorate is voting early, and unlike most years, early voting is skewing blue. That means that there will likely be a heavy red turnout on election day. Day-of votes usually come in first, so on the day, it may seem like red is winning. This phenomenon is known as a red mirage.
But be patient. We’re in the home stretch now.
I know that’s a big ask, but we are in the 33rd week of being patient with various levels of pandemic lockdown, mask wearing, and social distancing. A few more weeks to get it right will be a breeze. Right?