A short diary here from muggy Bangkok, Thailand, where I registered to receive an absentee ballot from my reddish hometown of Frederick, Maryland. The paperwork was emailed and acknowledged as both received and acceptable by the board of elections back in August.
Fast forward to last week, when I got curious about when I would receive that ballot. Luckily, Maryland has an easy way to check the status of your vote online. I pulled up my name, and...nothing. I was labeled an “inactive voter” and had no record of requesting an absentee ballot.
So, I contacted my county registration office, and they confirmed that no request was ever processed in my name. They had no explanation why their previous correspondence acknowledged the receipt of my request. At least, not right away. I sent another date stamped copy of the form I had previously submitted.
A short while later I received a response saying that “the likely reason your original request wasn’t processed was because the form was outdated.” The very form I downloaded from their website and returned back to them within 12 hours. Almost exactly the same form as is currently in use—only two data fields were shifted from the top to the bottom of the form.
I’m trying again to request that ballot, but I wonder how many others wouldn’t have taken that 2nd, 3rd, or 4th steps to confirm that everything was fine? Did the fact that my unpopular-in-this-part-of-the-county party registration have anything to do with them losing my original request?
Suppression isn’t just Russians and Racists. In a country where elections are so evenly divided, a few “oops” here and there could swing things against the will of the voters.
If you are voting absentee, do all you can to confirm that your vote will be counted. And if you’re in Bangkok any time soon, stop by and say hi. We make some delicious blue cocktails here.
