79. Voting Observations on Election Day Eve
Summary
Living in the same state doesn’t mean you’ll have the same voting experience. On this episode, Erica Courdae and India Jackson explore that truth by each sharing what it was like on the first day of early voting in Maryland.
Their vastly different experiences show that what we may consider normal isn’t so for everyone. Now, more than ever, we should reconsider what “normal” is and whether it’s a benchmark for ourselves or a hindrance to recognizing privilege.
Quoted
ERICA COURDAE
“There’s such a distrust of what volunteering information will do, especially considering you feel like if they really want your information they’re going to take it from you anyway.”
“It’s so easy to look at voter suppression as not letting felons vote, removing mailboxes, or reducing drop-off locations for ballots, but when you don’t have enough stations that’s pretty egregious.”
“It’s an exercise in diligence to challenge what you consider normal.”
“What is it that you take for granted that somebody else can’t?”
INDIA JACKSON
“My location, having the long line it had, still is not Metro accessible.”
“That is what I thought the norm was: very few people supporting you, a whole lot of people in lines, and not many places inside to actually cast your ballot. I wouldn’t have known it looks different for other people if we didn’t have a month dedicated in our Community to talking about it.”
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Episode Notes
Early voting opened in Maryland, where Erica and India both reside, on October 26. They reside in different counties and after speaking with one another, realized they had completely different experiences.
INDIA’S VOTING EXPERIENCE
India lives in a majority Black county outside of the DC area. While she’s in the largest city in the county, there’s only one polling station for its 58,000 residents.
Knowing the lines would be long, India’s day began at 5:00 AM. She arrived at the polling station at 6:15. By that time there was no parking—people had parked up to 1/4 of a mile away. There were 200-300 people waiting, with the line wrapping around the building twice and curling out toward the trail in the back.
In this specific county, there are over 900,000 residents, but the number of polling stations are highly inadequate. She spent 3.5 hours waiting to cast her ballot.
ERICA’S VOTING EXPERIENCE
Erica, on the other hand lives in a county with only 255,000 that has 4 polling stations to choose from. She knew if the closest one to her was too crowded, she could drive a short distance to another.
Getting in her car at 7:26 AM, she was parked by 7:31, 50 feet from the front door.
She voted, got Starbucks, and returned home all in under an hour.
WHO ISN’T BEING COUNTED?
It begs the question: how can someone have such a vastly different experience such a short distance away?
India shares that her county is majority Black. In fact, she says, there are very few white people in her county at all. While Erica’s county is more mixed, it’s much less densely populated.
While we typically think of voter suppression as not letting felons vote, removing mailboxes, or reducing drop-off locations for ballots, but when you don’t have enough stations that’s pretty egregious, says Erica. The two speculated on what determines the number of polling locations in a jurisdiction. Is it guided by population? By property values? By demographics?
India also brings up the fact that the 900,000 residents in her county is likely undercounted. Seeing as this number is driven by the Census, Erica agrees.
She shares her uncomfortable experience with Census workers coming door to door in her neighborhood this year. As a Black person, she said she’s already not trusting. What does that mean for someone with less privilege or more stigma and fear attached to their documentation status?
Why should a county like mine, Erica says, that’s four times smaller than India’s have more accessibility to resources and options?
Even though it’s frustrating, India admits this has always been her norm.
RECONSIDERING “NORMAL”
Erica reflects on the fact that what we all experience individually drives our assumption that it’s the norm. When we don’t talk about our experiences and connect with others about theirs, we don’t have the ability to challenge that assumption.
But maybe there is no norm.
Erica pushes listeners to exercise diligence in challenging what you consider normal. This takes mindfulness and requires us to ask if we’re using the term “normal” as a benchmark for ourselves, has it become a hindrance?
India shares that her voting experience made her realize she has privilege because she can walk and stand. She witnessed elderly people leave the line because they couldn’t stand that long. Erica had someone to watch her kids. She could go in without worrying about being harassed.
As evidenced by this conversation, reconsidering your normal is about more than race. It extends to the small, seemingly innocuous things that need to be considered as well.
One thing that did make this process easier for Erica and India was spending the month leading up to Election Day talking about voting in the Pause On The Play Community. If you’d like that type of support and want to end the year strong, submit your application today.