While I won't be sharing my vote with you, Dear Reader, I can say that, after electronically receiving my Virginia state ballot (expats vote according to their most recent place of residence in the US), I printed out the necessary documents (2 envelope templates, 2 pages of voting instructions, and 2 ballot sheets that were probably supposed to be printed as a single-page, double-sided ballot), filled out my ballot, got the outer envelope signed by a witness in our office (a perfectly useless gesture), folded the outer envelope according to the very specific paper-folding instructions, then took the whole thing to a local DHL branch down the street from where I work. AT DHL, a briskly businesslike lady took my envelope, keyed in the address information herself (instead of handing me a form for me to fill out), asked me about this or that shipping option, then charged me a whopping W46,000 to have my ballot arrive in Virginia by Monday of next week, i.e., right as I'm starting my walk. And yes, it's via air mail this time. I told the lady about how the post office basically threw up its hands and said that only sea mail was possible. She laughed. I'll using DHL again. In Korea, at least, it's cheaper than FedEx, and unlike the regular Korean postal service, it offers goddamn air mail.
So, God help me, I've now voted. My vote is but a drop in the bucket, and it's very likely to be nullified by any number of fraudulent mail-in votes, but for good or ill, I've expressed my political conscience. We'll see what happens come November 3. I'll be fresh from my trek and ready for the rest of this awful, shitty year to unfurl the remainder of its stinking, hairy, veiny length, then dick-slap us across the face. Can 2021 be any worse, or is it naïve to ask?
No comments:
Post a Comment