Mark Small

Today, Friday, October 30, 2020, has been beautiful: the autumn air crisp, the trees about to lose the orange and gold and red leaves. As I walked across the parking lot at 10:20, about 700 people already were in line for early voting. 1/9

Sanctimonious horses’ asses say “Not willing to stand in line? You shouldn’t have the right to vote” w/o argument to support their judgment Besides people already have died for the right to vote - that’s payment enough + I like the “I Vote/I Count” stickers they give out. 2/9

Casting a vote should not be made difficult by artificial barriers. Example: the polling site at St Luke’s did not open until 11 a.m. By the time doors opened, the line had about doubled. That site easily could have been opened at 8 a.m., and other things can be done. 3/9

More polling sites & voting by mail make voting easier but people who arent affluent are < able to afford a wait of several hours to cast a vote If the GOP (& that’s where the horses’ asses are) insists on barriers to voting then they should give people the day off, with pay. 4/9

We were lucky the weather was nice. Rain or sleet would have been a bite. People were patient. Only one person, out of over 1,000, wore a maga hat. Otherwise people were polite. By the time our part of the line entered the building, at 1:40, few people grumbled. 5/9

The GOP is doing what it can to suppress the right to vote. I stood in line with people who did not have faces that reflected “grim determination” - just determination. That’s what really struck me. We won’t give up our rights - at all, much less easily. 6/9