Voting By Mail Is Great, But

It Takes Time. Plan Ahead.

Send a text—takes a second. Send an e-mail—takes an instant. Send a letter—it can take a week. They don’t call it “snail mail” for nothin’.

We’re so used to the cyber-speed at which our world rushes these days. I can send an e-mail to Europe or South America in the blink of an eye, I can face-time with a person who is literally on the other side of the world. So when we get into the issue of absentee ballots and voting by mail, it seems quaint and old-fashioned to use an envelope. A stamp. It almost seems like I should fill out my paper ballot with a quill pen.

I drop my ballot in the mailbox, and it can take a week to move through the postal system. The Pony Express was faster.

It can’t be said enough: Voting by mail takes time. You contact the Board of Elections, ask them to mail you an application form (not a ballot, an application form, joy oh joy.) Fill it out, mail it back, and then and only then they mail you a ballot. And then you mail it back. Four exchanges through the mail. This back-and-forth mailing stuff can take days, or weeks.

Same with absentee ballots. They mail you the form, you mail it back, they mail you the ballot, you mail it back…how long will that take? Two weeks? Three? Consider investing in a well-trained carrier pigeon.

And the Board of Elections in each state has different dates and deadlines and rules and regulations for voting by mail. Gosh, you’d almost think they don’t want us to vote or something. Here’s a good site for finding out about absentee ballots state by state. 

It’s up to us to spread the word about this. As Jay Kuo says, “We have to be information warriors.” Young voters, especially college students, are likely to be away from home on Election Day, and kids in general are not renowned for their foresight and ability to meet deadlines and plan ahead.

How can we remind kids, other than nagging the ones we know personally? I’ve also gone to local colleges and put up posters like this in the cafeteria, and the Student Union, and the library, and the bathrooms:

I want to be careful about where I post my reminders, though. The last thing I want to do is efficiently remind all the Republicans in my neighborhood to be sure and vote. One local community college is in a rural area and skews very red. Another is in an urban area and tends to be blue. Think about where your best efforts lie.

And this is not the issue I will write a Letter to the Editor on. Those tend to be read by older, conservative voters. My latest Letter to the Editor (it wasn’t frontpage news, they put it with the obituaries, but hey) was about Trump’s disrespect to veterans—an issue that might resonate with undecided voters.

Here’s another thing to mention, when you remind your nephews or your students or your lawn guy to vote: in New York State, once you send in that application for a mail or absentee ballot, you can't change your mind and vote as usual at the polls. You’ll have to fill out a provisional ballot, and hope it gets counted. Other states may have similar restrictions.

So pick up a pen and lick the envelope and stick on the stamp—go for it! But put it on your calendar now, to get started early.

Dear Friends,

Are you anxious about the election of 2024 and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.

Every week I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.

Together, I think, we could really make a difference.

                “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.”

                                      --Noam Chomsky

(Public service announcement: goldenrod does not cause hay fever—its pollen is carried by pollinators, and is not windborne. Goldenrod is a native plant and great for wildlife. Ragweed, which blooms at the same time as goldenrod, is the hay fever culprit.

I love goldenrod, its scent and its brightness, and the cloud of little pollinators that hover around it and shelter in its leaves.)