It’s Election Day in America, and if you haven’t voted, well, maybe it isn’t Election Day where you’re at. Is it Election Day everywhere in America? I don’t know. It was Election Day in Texas. I voted this morning. Also tried to get a flu shot last night (guess I needed an appointment DON’T WORRY I’ll do it). Replaced the battery in one of my smoke detectors, too. Someone give me a citizenship medal.
Anyway, Election Day’s happening, which means it’s time for us to offer some recommendations. Here are The Barking Crow’s 2021 General Election endorsements:
Endorsement #1: Walking to your polling place.
Just hits different. Really puts you in touch with the neighborhood. Don’t go overboard or anything—if you live out in the country or in a subdivisioned part of the suburbs, we aren’t saying you should walk four miles or cross busy streets on foot. But if you’ve got a neighborhood polling place, treat it like one.
Endorsement #2: Hurriedly trying to come up with some way to remember the voting choices you wrote down in a note on your phone while you’re a block or two away from the polling place.
Mnemonic device? Is that what it’s called? One of those bad boys. There’s a lot of things on ballots. Sometimes they’re worded rather vaguely. Sometimes you look at endorsements, like these ones, or at candidates’ websites, or at a helpful lil summary of what each proposition is actually trying to enact, and then you make a list of what you want to vote for so you don’t forget. But then sometimes, they won’t let you look at that list in the booth (Sometimes they will, though? I don’t know the rules.) and you’ll want to remember it. So the hurried attempt at memorization (usually fairly successful, honestly) is a good part of the Election Day diet.
Endorsement #3: Awkwardly looking around to see if other people are wearing masks at the polling place before putting yours on.
Our indication is that most of you reading this are vaccinated (if not, hey friend, we’d really appreciate it if you got the shot), as we are. For us, wearing a mask isn’t as critical as it is for the unvaccinated, since we’re statistically far less likely to catch Covid and/or transmit it to others. But at the same time, those poll workers are doing a good and generous thing with their time, and if it makes them more comfortable while they do it? Small sacrifice to make. Flu season’s starting, too.
Endorsement #4: Grabbing a coffee or something on the way home.
If your neighborhood has the means to do this, make it happen. Another good being-in-a-neighborhood feeling. Maybe even pay in cash, so you can put some change in the donation box for the animal shelter for once. Also, good little treat. Reward for the citizening. And it might help you transition into whatever else it is you want to do when you get home.
