Defiant voters

Charles Blow shares what voting felt like in Georgia when he cast his ballot in the run-off election between brain damaged Trumper Hershel Walker and U.S. Senator Rev. Rafael Warnock. Those of us who live in states that make it is easy to vote should be thankful for what we've won.

This is my second election cycle in Georgia, but I still can’t get used to the wait times to vote. It’s a voter suppression tactic in and of itself. It’s a poll tax paid in time. ... I lived more than 25 years in New York, where I took for granted that voting was a casual affair. 

... as I waited, something else occurred to me: Voter suppression is one of the surest cures for apathy. Nothing makes you value a thing like someone trying to steal it from you.
The line, and all the people patiently waiting in it, is a symbol of resilience and perseverance. It is a reminder that people will work hard to overcome obstacles to accomplish things they deem essential.

... These waits can disproportionately affect nonwhite voters. According to a report by Georgia Public Broadcasting and ProPublica before Election Day in 2020, a shrinking number of polling places “has primarily caused long lines in nonwhite neighborhoods where voter registration has surged and more residents cast ballots in person on Election Day.”

According to the report, the nine metro Atlanta counties “have nearly half of the state’s active voters but only 38 percent of the polling places.”

... People who defend voter suppression point to [high turnout] numbers as proof that their critics are simply being hyperbolic and creating an issue where none exists. But that is the opposite of the truth as far as I can see it. From my perspective, voters are simply responding with defiance to the efforts to suppress.

... I have nothing but disdain for the efforts to suppress the vote in my new home state, but I have nothing but admiration for the voters’ determination not to be suppressed.

Democracy is being saved by sheer force of will, by people climbing a hill that should never have been put in front of them.

My friends who worked with UniteHERE in Reno are now on the ground along with so many others, encouraging Warnock supporters to defy a system that wants to shut them out. We'll find out on Tuesday night whether defiant citizens can again prevail.