It is now a certainty: I will not be voting in the 2012 elections. In the midst of moving, I had assumed that my mail in ballot would be forwarded from California. In all the moving shuffle–driving across the country, moving into a new place, starting a new job–I couldn’t get my voter registration shifted to Maryland in time. Every day I’ve checked the mailbox looking for the unmistakable envelop containing my ballot. I’ve known for the last few days that it was too late, but hadn’t really wanted to admit it to myself. In my years of voting I have only missed one other election. Then, like now, was the result of a glitch in my registration, not anything to do with my interest in or desire to vote. I must confess that it almost literally makes me sick that I won’t be able to vote in the upcoming election. I believe there is much at stake, and while the outcome of the election doesn’t rest on my single vote, to be missing it feels deeply unsettling.
It has been during my lifetime that African Americans were gradually able to exercise their right to vote. Of course, Black folks (men, at least) have voted since the 1870s, in fact, my great, great grandfather voted–a cousin of mine who is a genealogist discovered his voter registration from sometime around that era. My great grandfather was sent as a delegate to the state republican convention sometime in the late 1800s; so not only could black people vote, many were also politically active. But this was rare, and over time, many of the rights African Americans enjoyed briefly–including voting rights–were rolled back for many decades. Eventually the Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally extended that right to all African Americans. People fought–literally–and died for my right to go to the polls and vote. I am distressed that I will not be able to vote this year. Would that I had planned better.
I am not a intrepid, extraverted get on the phone, knock on doors kind of person, and because of commitments and meetings at my new job, I did not feel as though I could take election day off from work and go work the polls or engage in other activities to get people out to vote. So other than sending in a modest campaign contribution (after receiving requests via email several times per day), the only other thing I’ve been able to do relative the election is to pray, which I’ve found myself doing a lot.
Tonight I am grateful for the spirits of my ancestors. I can feel them around me this evening, not allowing me to be discouraged that I will not be mailing in my vote for 2012. There’s an odd sense of…perhaps it is karma. I may not be filling in the little dots on my ballot indicating who I am voting for and what measures I’m for or against, and I may not be exercising my constitutional, legal right to vote on Tuesday, but in so many other actions that I am taking and in the work I do every day, I am doing my part for my country as much as someone who goes into the booth and pulls the lever. I rarely spend much time in this blog espousing any particular political viewpoint; and I’m not going to do so this evening. I am simply grateful for the realization that there are many ways to participate in our democracy and I am mindful of how often I engage in them. This year I will not wear a sticker that says, “I Voted,” but I will celebrate with those who do and be grateful.
