I am a voter. Have been since I turned 18. I would pass every pollster’s likely-voter screen, and eagerly give my opinion about candidates when asked. But this year my primary vote didn't count. This is my story: don’t let it happen to you.
I live in New York, but also have a second residence in North Carolina. I've always voted in New York, because that is where I work, and I live in a somewhat swingy House district. But this year I was considering voting in North Carolina so that I could help out Kay Hagan in the Senate race. I researched the rules and figured that I could switch my registration to North Carolina no problem. And I could switch back next year if I wanted. Yeah, I wouldn't be able vote for the Dem in my NY House race, but keeping the Senate is a real concern this year, as opposed to flipping the House. And I really wanted to stick it to Tillis for all the damage done by the NC legislature under his leadership.
But there was one thing that kept me from moving forward with my plan. Cuomo. He is just…wrong.
In general, I can understand and accept a wide range of policies from my candidates, as long as they are pragmatic measures that at least incrementally move toward a more progressive agenda. I also appreciate assertions of executive power, especially with a dysfunctional legislature, and I love the bully pulpit. This is the Cuomo I voted for to be Governor four years ago. I thought I knew what I was getting. But there has been nothing pragmatic about his term. He has been vindictive towards anyone who questions him, and dismissive of his own party. I mean, what sort of Democrat actively supports a strategy to deny his party’s control of the state Senate? And this guy has national ambitions?
I make a particular point to vote in primaries, because I find that is the best opportunity to make my real preferences for candidates known. And even though it was clear that Cuomo would win the nomination, I wanted to make sure my voice was one of the many who would vote against him in the primary. Making it clear that he did not have a base of committed Democratic support in New York State.
So I ditched my plans to vote in North Carolina and decided to stay with my polling place at the local town hall.
I also travel a lot, so I made sure that I would be in town for election day. I have voted absentee on many occasions, but I prefer to do it in person. The satisfying flick of the toggle and then the loud lever pull of the old polling booths just sounded like democracy to me. The new scanners are much less tactile, but I still like the physical sensation of depositing my vote. So I worked out my schedule so I would return to New York on Monday night before Tuesday’s primary. I stuck my primary election reminder card on the refrigerator, and continued my life as usual.
To summarize: I thought a lot about this election. I made plans to change my registration, but ultimately decided not to. I remained eligible to vote in New York at the same polling place I have gone to for the last 12 years. I was in town and had set aside time in my schedule to cast my ballot. Everything was lined up for me to exercise my voting rights as a citizen of the United States of America. So why didn't my vote count?
Here is the story. I got into town late, and had an early morning meeting. I work about an hour away from where I live. I usually listen to NPR and local news on the drive, but that morning I had on sports radio because I was listening to the Yankees game on the way home the night before, and well, sometimes Mike and Mike amuses me. It wasn't until about 45 minutes into the drive that I finally flipped over to NPR to catch top of the hour news. And that’s when I realized that it was primary day. And I had forgotten to vote.
I thought about turning around, but there was no way to get back to my polling station and then return to work in time for my meeting. I considered my schedule for the rest of the day, and I was unable to move my evening commitment so that I could get back home before the polls closed. That’s when it hit me. My vote won’t count.
I could make this about silly rules that restrict voting to a single assigned polling station. Or the lack of good early voting policies in New York. Or how voting on Tuesday is inconvenient for those of us who work, and shouldn't it be spread out over several days, but this is exactly what the Republicans want is for people like me not to vote, and even though I am not voting in North Carolina I now know what disenfranchisement is like, so we have to stop them from doing this in Ohio-Wisconsin-and-the-entire-South, amirite?.
But there isn't a policy in the world that could have fixed my negligence. To be a voter you have to vote. Get out the vote means getting out to vote. And I didn't do that. It was my fault. I forgot to vote.
So let this be a lesson to everyone. The only way your vote counts is if you actually cast one.