Unlike many of my fellow voters, when I step into my polling place later today, I won't be bothered. At all. I'm white, in my 60s, and vote in a Republican leaning precinct. In other words, I'm not a target for voter suppression measures and would be ignored by any drooling True the Vote villian who might show up.
Vote suppressors don't come to my precinct anyway. In their way of thinking, they don't need to. There are plenty of their traditional victims to suppress in other precincts. That's where they'll go with their bag of tricks.
The routine evil robo calls telling people who live in very Democratic areas the wrong election date and incorrect location of the polls have likely gone out already. I've received a hundred robo calls of all types with such a frantic incessancy to plant one more piece of propaganda and another unsubstantiated lie into my brain that I wonder how anybody could possibly believe the crap they spew. Frankly, I just hang up knowing that my failure to listen to their BS will cause their autodialer to move to the next number and cost them a bit more money. No worries, though, they've always got plenty of money to waste.
They turned to their next step when early voting started, trying to intimidate their stereotyped batch of American citizens into giving up their right to vote. Here in the Milwaukee area, the plan included a bunch of billboards put up in minority neighborhoods threatening heavy fines and incarceration for "voter fraud". While the billboards were taken down, they made their point: that they consider Voting While Black or Latino to be a crime.
Today, though, will be the main event as people go to vote. They don't even have to approach people with "information" that they'll need voter ID (they don't here) or that it's a crime to vote if you've ever been convicted of a crime (it isn't once you've served your time and are off probation). Just standing outside of polling places with orange vests or suits starting at folks lined up to vote is intimidating enough. Tying up poll workers with phony challenges will make those voter lines longer and far too many people with kids to pick up, jobs to go to, dinner to prepare, or the endless list of things that poor people and working people have to do compell them to abandon their opportunity to vote.
It's the same old thing at every election and it's getting worse.
It's worse because we do damn little about it. Yes, we report problems and they might even get a little attention, but nothing much is done about it in the justice system. Little or no prosecution and the little that is done is about individuals, not the whole stinking scheme of robocalling or sending deliberately false voter information or the systematic intimidation of voters.
Just look at Mitt Romney who voted in Massachusetts by claiming he was living in his sons unfinished basement. What happened? He was elected Governor.
So, today, as I go and vote, I'll get to exercise my right to vote unimpeded. I'll be thinking about those who won't have it so easy and imagining a country where people and groups who block the vote lose theirs while they sit in prison serving their sentences.
I want everyone to be able to just walk into their polling place, vote on a verifiable paper ballot with a verified vote count and not worry about someone trying to take their rights away.
Rest up, folks, it's going to be a long day and a long night.
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