I’m following in the footsteps of giants: this diary and this one, posted on the weekend. Both deal with Washington State voting, but my main message is universal.
Washington is all-mail-voting. We got our ballots Saturday, a few days after most of the state it seems. The first diary above reports Western WA ballot boxes quickly filling up over the weekend, and I’ve heard the same from a Central WA voter while phone banking for Dr. Kim Schrier (D, WA-08) last night.
This is why I write this diary now, before y’all WA Kossacks turn in your ballots.
Republicans have famously held our SoS office since the 1964 election. Back then WA was a swing state; our increasingly bright blue hue is a development of the last 20-30 years. Somehow, during these past decades electing a Republican SoS has become a “point of pride” among too many WA Democrats. I guess it gives some people a feel-good vibe of “not being 100% partisan”.
It has helped Republicans, that during much of that time (2001-2013) we had Sam Reed, a very likable chap who famously angered his party by not trying tip the scales towards Dino Rossi during the razor-thin 2004 governor’s recounts.
But… nonpartisan he wasn’t. Upon retiring, he turned around and picked another Republican, Kim Wyman, as his successor.
In 2016 Clinton took WA 55-37. Wyman won her first re-election on the same day, 55-45. This means at least ¼, possibly 1/3, of Clinton voters (nearly all solid Democrats) also voted for the Republican Wyman.
I’ll grant you that Wyman is not a lip-frothing MAGA Republican. She also said some good things about WA’s all-mail election (instituted 2011 via the Legislature, not the SoS office), to counter Trump’s lies against the system. But she hasn’t been vocal enough and didn’t show leadership (e.g., by banding SoS’s from both parties together for a bigger voice) to help prevent Trump from turning this into a partisan issue. To my knowledge, she’s also not distancing herself from toxic far-right conspiracy nut Culp running at the top of the state R ticket, for governor.
But Wyman could be a saint, and I’ll still tell you to vote Dem in particular for this position.
There is a chasm between R and D regarding voting rights, a chasm as wide as that on healthcare and civil rights. The US has never really shaken off its initial approach to voting: notoriously it was allowed only for wealthy white men, and in fact the President was not chosen by popular vote for decades, even a popular vote of those wealthy white men. The philosophy has been that “only some people deserve to vote”. This continues to be the Republican philosophy. This is why Americans find ourselves having to actively register to vote. This is why people who’ve been to prison are denied the right to vote. And so forth.
Just like with healthcare, you have to step outside to other democracies, to see how insanely unjust and undemocratic the US system is on voting access. Having come from Israel — no bastion of democracy, and I have not minced words in shredding its dictatorial Occupation regime and general election circus— but Israel practices
- automatic voting registration using the population registry
- A national holiday every general election day (and starting 2018 even for local elections, to boost their far lower turnout)
- Poll workers split among parties and paid a very generous one-day salary by the state
- Even prisoners can vote from prison. There are also mobile polling stations at all hospitals, etc.
Israel is not alone: nearly all European countries follow similar policies. Believe me, in the 21st Century (and even the 20th) industrialized-nation governments know who their residents are and who among them are citizens. Registering them to vote automatically is easy. The main reason the US doesn’t do it is the inertial power of an incredibly racist, exclusionary world-view.
And here’s the thing: just like with healthcare, Republicans will NOT lead us to the right direction. We need Democrats to keep pushing the envelope, expanding access towards universal.
Gael Tarleton will do that for Washingtonians. Kim Wyman won’t. Vote Gael.