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Nice republic ya got there. A shame if you couldn’t keep it.

2024 is on the ballot in 2022

Photo: Jonathon Gruenke / For WUNC

Posts in my space will be brief the next couple of days.

If you have not, please, please, get your butts (and/or your ballots) to the polls tomorrow. There is much to do and a better tomorrow to secure locally and nationally. One with a fairer economy, a stronger social safety net, better health care, and a healthier environment.

People worried about the prospects for violence during early voting, but there is nothing to report from my county. The usual hiccups, but nothing much more than last-minute lines on Saturday. Good to see, better late, etc.

“This is not a normal election,” The Washington Post’s lead editorial declares.

No kidding? Early vote totals already exceed the 2018 midterms. Things could go either way for Democrats.

Do you think Democrats will hold the state Supreme Court, a local judge asked me on Saturday. It depends not only on how many vote, but on how. If voters come out of the polling place after five minutes, they didn’t vote all the down-ballot races. If they come out after 15, they likely did.

The Washington Post Editorial Board reports in a new poll that people are worried about the prospects of more political violence in our future. “Nearly 9 in 10 reported they are somewhat or very concerned. Federal authorities warned last week that a broad range of potential targets, such as ideological opponents and election workers, might be at risk following the vote, particularly if losing candidates claim election fraud.”

Republicans are sure to do so. Their asymmetric war on the foundations of the republic proceeds apace.

Democrats warn that a raft of governmental features that make America America are on the 2022 ballot tomorrow. In fact, the 2024 election is on the ballot tomorrow:

There is no need to overstate the threat; widespread early voting has so far proceeded mostly without incident, and it is imperative that Americans are not scared away from the polls. That requires leaders at all levels of government to assure that voting and vote-counting proceed smoothly — and for voters themselves to recognize that this election matters, more than many others in the past, and to be sure to show up.

In deciding whether and how to vote, Americans should keep the fundamentals in mind, supporting candidates committed to the democratic system and the peaceful transfer of power, and opposing those who have tried to profit from toxic lies about election integrity. Otherwise, those who stoke unfounded suspicions and widen divisions might prevail. This would encourage others to mimic them. It would also hand over critical elements of the machinery of democracy to election deniers in advance of the 2024 presidential race.

It’s important to understand that this election, in these times, is not normal.

The stakes are higher than where the top marginal tax rate might end up, what kinds of judges get confirmed or even the size of government. The past two elections have not been normal, and this one is not, either.

The Post found nearly 300 election deniers on the ballot in 48 of 50 states. That is, Republicans who once pitched hissy fits about flag pins and salutes now are simply going through the motions of elections to offices they plan to declare theirs, whatever voters decide, as if by divine right. They pledge their allegiance to a republic for which their party cult no longer stands. They will get their way, or else.

Nice republic ya got there. A shame if you couldn’t keep it.

Don’t forget to vote your entire ballot!

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Please go vote and take family and friends.

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