This Week I Voted

This week I voted in the 2024 election.

Voting by Mail

I hope all Americans eligible to vote realize that this is definitely the most serious election of our lifetimes, and arguably ever in US history. Nothing less than domestic fascism is on the horizon.

Ballot Sent

So I have been waiting with bated breath (and occasionally, after sushi, baited breath) the arrival of my mail-in ballot. By voting by mail and checking the status on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s web site, I can avoid any election day hijinks and ensure my ballot is properly submitted.

So, as you can see here, I was excited to note that the ballots were mailed out on 2024-Oct-07. (The previous ballot shown was a late Democratic primary, in which I previously voted. Mostly unopposed candidates, except for delegate to Governor’s Council. Like everybody else, I have little idea what that is, and guessed the incumbent might know what she’s doing.)

Ballot Received & Filled Out

My ballot arrived promptly on 2024-Oct-08, the next day.

I filled it out, with the Federal portion as shown here: Democrats for the presidency, the Senate, and the House. It really takes a trifecta to root out the fascists:

• If Republicans control the House, they will just continue to block legislation, shut down the government with debt limit showdowns, and try to impeach everybody in sight.
• If Republicans control the Senate, they will block any appointments they can, especially including the Supreme Court.

So… Democrats at the federal level.

Now, there was a great deal more on the ballot: a plethora of local offices with peculiar New England names, a number of ballot initiatives, and so on. Those are not of wide interest, unless you also happen to live in my town! The relevant portion is the federal portion shown here, and the admonition to vote Democratic for president, senate, and representative.

Please do not vote for any Republican, for any imaginable office, under any conceivable circumstance. They have become de facto fascists, and must re-form another party to set foot on the road to credibility. Also: please do not vote 3rd party or abstain from voting. Both of those do not “send a message” other than “I don’t care”. They amount to half a vote for Trump and the end of American democracy.

Ballot Delivered

With that, I folded the ballot up, put it in the Very Special Envelope. I then signed, dated and sealed the VSE, putting it in the other envelope for mailing.

Remember the last election, when Trump’s Postmaster General Louis DeJoy attempted sabotage of mail-in voting by crippling blue state post offices with the removal and destruction of mail sorting machines? Yeah, that guy’s still around.

So while there’s little danger of such a problem here in Massachusetts, I’m a (retired) professional suspicious bastard. So I walked past the post office, and went the extra couple blocks to the Town Hall. Here you see me stuffing the ballot envelope into the official ballot drop box run by the Town Clerk.

Last election, there were instances of armed MAGAs obstructing drop boxes. They would allege they were “protecting” the ballots, and “checking” the citizenship of anyone depositing a ballot. In practice, it was armed intimidation of voters. I saw no such thing here in Deep Blue New England, thankfully. I didn’t spot the surveillance cameras, though (for once) I hope there were several. It probably helped (for once) to be across the street from the police department.

Ballot Accepted?

Now comes the waiting game.

The Town Clerk’s people probably empty that drop box once a day. They then scan the (sealed) ballot envelope with its bar code, and deposit the ballot in a safe to be counted on election day. They report the receipt of the ballot up to the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The Secretary’s web site updates its database every 2 hours.

So… time to wait for all that to happen. We’re looking for the state of my ballot to change from “Not Returned” to a date, and for the status to move to “Accepted”. “Accepted” means it’s all been checked and it’s ready to be counted.

Refresh… refresh … refresh…

It feels like it’s 2021 and we’re all refreshing browser windows looking for vaccination appointments.

Finally, at 4:37pm today, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s web site says my ballot is received in good order and ready for counting.

Done!

The Weekend Conclusion

Yes, I’m still very tense about the election. But the tension has gone down a little, because I know I’ve done my part. Now I worry that everyone else needs to go and do their part.

The Weekend Publisher and his Assistant Weekend Publisher, as shown here, are a bit more practical. Now that I have voted as they instructed, under penalty of claw, they are willing to stand down from action stations. (It also helps that I have fed them.)

There are still many steps ahead of us:

• The actual election on Nov 5, ironically on Guy Fawkes Day.
• The counting of the ballots, without armed Republican goons intimidating officials.
• The certification of counts, without the promised interference from local Republican officials.
• The state certification of counts, without the promised interference from Republican governors.
• The formation of, and performance of, Electoral College slates, without illegal “alternative” slates Republicans tried last time.
• The Congressional certification of the Electoral College results, without Republican insurrection and political violence as seen last time.
• The inauguration and swearing-in of Harris and Walz, which I imagine will be under stupendously tight security.

And finally, the return of Trump to court, for my favorite step yet to come: Ceterum censeo, Trump incarcerandam esse.

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Notes & References

Nope.