Thursday, August 20, 2020

Get Out and Vote

 So, we're living in a time when the President admits that he wants to de-fund the Post Office to limit how many people can vote by mail and his Postmaster General (who owns stock in a USPS competitor) orders the destruction of mail sorting machines.  It's important to know how voting is being managed in your state this year, whether and on what grounds you can request an absentee ballot, where your in-person polling place is, and so on.

Here are some places you can consult:

  • The web site of your state's highest election official. This is often the secretary of state. For example, here's the Alabama secretary of state's web site. Remember that most of these folks want elections to run well and smoothly, regardless of the party they belong to. The web search to use is something like this:

    state of [your_state_name ] voting 

    Or:

    [your_state_name] secretary of state voting

  • The represent.us web site has a page that tells you everything you need to know about voting by mail on a state-by-state basis.
  • The vote.org web site has even more election information.
I'm going to note that the USPS (Post Office) was established in the U.S.Constitution; millions of people, especially in rural areas, depend on it for mail, packages, and medication delivery; and 91% of Americans approve of the Postal Service. The USPS provides jobs to hundreds of thousands of people and provides a vital service. The Republican Party has been trying to sabotage it for decades; the USPS is required to fund pensions 75 years in advance and health care for 50 years in advance, unlike every other organization or business in the country. If you want your mail delivered, support the candidates who support the USPS.

No comments: