This is what voter suppression looks like.
I grew up in Missouri before moving to Washington state. When I reached voting age, it was (and still is) ridiculously common to see polling places in rural and suburban areas with no waiting to vote. Meanwhile, in the cities (which happen to vote more democratic), you’ll see loooong lines extending outside. When voting facilities and staff are not proportionally distributed to accommodate voter density, you get shit like this; voters in different districts receiving different treatment. And people who live there never know any better to ask for something different.
This all blew my mind after living first in a suburban area, then an urban one, and now living in a state that has done voting my mail for decades. I love voting by mail. It’s unconcionable to me at this point for people to stand for in-person voting anymore.
I chatted with Boeing strikers about this.
The contract proposal was announced on Halloween, with the strikers getting contract details in a conference call that night (while many were either out trick or treating with their kids or otherwise having fun). The vote was scheduled for Monday, the day before a massively monumental election.
They didn’t get the pensions they wanted most. This entire thing was timed for maximum anxiety and distraction.