Voting with Hope

I am hopeful about the national midterm election tomorrow because the early voting turnout numbers have been amazing. This is a good sign for Democrats who need overwhelming victories because the current system is gerrymandered for the Republicans who have been refining the voter suppression of poor people for decades.

Voting by mail has its conveniences but there is something moving about communal voting, in person, with other voters. Thankfully, San Francisco's Department of Elections has been getting better every year at running a huge, smooth early voting operation, and this year there was both a shared seriousness and cheerfulness among poll workers and voters alike.

Tomorrow is only the first step in fighting all-out fascists ruling the United States, but the stakes are clear to most sentient beings and you can feel it in the collective determination of everyone, including those who don't usually pay much attention to politics.

Plus, there are fun people to vote for and encourage, such as Paul Bellar who is running for San Francisco Assessor. He handed me a flyer a couple of weeks ago in front of the 4th Street Caltrain station way too early in the morning. His pitch sounded good, so when I ran into him at the Heart of the City Farmers Market was able to say, "Hey, I just voted for you 30 minutes ago. Good luck, Tall Paul!"