Doing something a certain way because you deem it a “tradition” does not lock you into doing it forever, as circumstance can compel you to make a change.
Early voting is an example. At least it is for me. I have spent my voting life casting ballots on Election Day. I consider voting a rite of passage steeped in tradition.
Times have changed and the threat of a political party performing dirty tricks to muck up the process has made me change my view of early voting. I am going to cast my ballot in the midterm election early … as in the first day it becomes available.
Texas Republicans are threatening to do something that could change the way we vote or could affect the number or voters taking part in the election. To avoid all of that I intend to cast my ballot in time to get it logged into the Collin County, Texas, system. Where it will stand forever as my statement of the way things are shaping up in Texas.
I have lived and worked in Texas for more than four decades. The election processes in three Texas counties I have called home — Jefferson, Randall and Collin counties — have all worked seamlessly. I got to know county clerks and I consider them all to be hardworking, conscientious public servants. The same can be said of two Oregon counties where I worked early in my career.
The pressure being applied by Donald Trump and his hooligans is scaring me enough to change the way I vote. Polling marshals, tossed-out ballots, constant rhetoric from Trump about how “corrupt” the system has become all are weighing on me as Election Day draws ever closer.
One way to secure my mind is to vote early then await the results.