HELP SAVE RICK V’S VOTE: A FRIEND WRITES…
“Thanks to unknown forces, I’m paying a poll tax of $284 this year to Greyhound. I tried to straighten this out Oct. 19, when a city official told me that my absentee ballot — which I applied for at the end of September — had been just been sent within days and that I should just sit tight and wait for it. Well, fuck me, it’s the Friday before Election Day and it’s still not here, which essentially means I’ve written off state and local elections. There is, after all, a slim chance that I can still get it and send it back for the presidential. So I call the city again, just like last time getting bounced from the voter registration office* to a couple other numbers**, and a guy who identifies himself only as “C.P.” in the city commissioner chair’s office looks me up again and tells me my ballot was sent LAST MONTH. He says that that proves it left Philly, and in not so many words, he tells me that fuck-all could’ve happened to my ballot after that. I tell him what the lady told me the week before, and he asks why she didn’t offer to rush me a new ballot. WTF. And now that I think about, it seems like “C.P.” could’ve done the same. But he didn’t. He just straight up told me like it was: I’m not voting this year. Just a day ago I was still holding on, thinking, OK, I can give up the state and local. And I can pay $15 or whatever to FedEx the damn thing in time for the presidential race. And then this dude tells me it’s over.
I fumed for a while, filed a formal complaint to the local nonpartisan watchdog***, sent out e-mails and posted on message boards. Basically spammed my shit out there as therapy, with the undertone of not taking your vote for granted this year. And now I’m saying fuck it. I’m privileged, and if you’re reading this, most likely, in relative terms, you are too. So I just charged nearly $300 to ride ghetto-ass Greyhound round-trip to Philly (no, no airlines really serve LIttle Rock that well; a r/t flight now is min. $500). Somewhere, somehow, by mistake or ill will, I was going to be denied my vote; at first I was going to settle for not voting local, then I lost my say in everything. Now I’m gonna cramp my legs halfway across the country to cast my vote in all of the races. This is now the part where you can Command+W and tell me to fuck myself. Like I said before, I’m privileged enough to be able to take the better part of a week to go back and cast my measly but respected ballot. That said, I’m not rich. I’m still spending what is essentially bill money, but I can absorb and spread that cost. So I’m asking that if you think this is jacked, then please send me a buck, anything at all to help defray the cost of this Greyhound ticket. Paypal it to me at rick_valenzuela@hotmail.com. Really, when you think about it, this not much different from party faithful giving car and bus rides to voters on Election Day. But if the idea that this process screwed me and is screwing thousands of others makes you shake your head, then I hope that’s enough to drop me a dollar, just to say fuck a flawed system.
While I appreciate any contributions, I’m realistic enough to expect no more than what will cover the three or four bucks of bananas needed to prevent my legs from cramping on these trips, and maybe some gum and a bug juice. That said, I’m not even gonna address the idea of profitng or anything like that. C’mon, I’m going Greyhound. But if you do contribute, I’ll give due props here on this site. If that makes you uncomfortable, tell me if you’d rather remain anonymous, or your contribution undisclosed. Still, the numbers will be up there. And at the very least, thanks for reading this far. Sincerely, Rick Valenzuela”
*Philadelphia Voter Registration office, 215.686.1505
**Philadelphia City Commissioners, Chairwoman M. Tartaglione’s office, 215.686.3460 Philadelphia Board of Elections, 215.686. 3943
***The Committee of Seventy, 215.557.3600
