I am so proud to vote.
We vote at a nearby elementary school. My wife and I take our children into the voting booth with us so they can see the process up close.
Cumberland County elections workers always make sure the kids get “I voted” stickers, and we take a family photo wearing them.
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I usually put my sticker somewhere on my dashboard where it stays for weeks … and weeks … and sometimes, months.
I have said before that voting is the most power the average person has to shape their world, at least for people without big money or big influence.
Plus, I know the price paid for myself and others to exercise our rights, as Americans, to vote.
My parents made sure all three of us Pitts boys knew that growing up.
People marched. They were arrested. They were beaten. They were killed.
Civil rights legend John Lewis, who died in July at age 80, and so many other people, bled the streets red at the Pettus Bridge for me.
Why would I sit home?
So yeah, voting is one of the few things I would risk my own life to do. It is that important.
But I am here to tell you, even in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic — you don’t have to risk your life.
Here in Cumberland County, we have a good team in place at the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Whatever happens nationally and in other counties and states, I am trusting the people here in our county will deliver a safe and fair election this October and November.
We voters have a role to play, too.
Remember three words: Early, early, early.
Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you are like my older brother, Marshall Jr., who likes to wait until voting day — this would be the year to reconsider.
My older brother says with a sigh of resignation that he will vote early this year. I expect my father will, too — he is another “day-of” voter, but I have met few people who take the coronavirus as seriously as him.
Early, or one-stop voting, is scheduled to begin Oct. 15 and will run every day, starting at 8 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, until Oct. 31. There will be 12 locations around the county.
Weekdays, the polls will be open until 7:30 p.m. Saturday hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday hours are 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.There will be 17 days of early voting before Election Day.
You can easily stay safe from the pandemic by using the same principle that grocery stores use when they offer early shopping hours for at-risk shoppers. Go vote at a time when there are fewer people.
I don’t have to tell you to wear a mask. You already know that because you care about other folks.
“We really encourage people to vote one-stop,” says Terri Robertson, the county elections director.
She noted that polling locations will be open “every Saturday and two Sundays,” as well as weekdays.
“Multiple locations, extended hours — they should be able to find a time to go that it’s not crowded,” she says.
Robertson says elections workers intend to do everything in their power to make the voting areas safe.
“We’re going to have people cleaning throughout the day,” she says. “We’ll have people monitoring the lines to keep people socially distanced.”
Meanwhile, if you plan to vote by mail, you surely know that you are far from alone. As many as 40% of state residents could vote by mail, which, according to the Charlotte newspaper, is 10 times the average number.
I have covered in a previous column the process of obtaining an absentee ballot in our county. But the headline for mail-in voting is the same as it is for one-stop: Early, early, early.
Get those ballot request forms back early and fill out and return the ballots early. Especially with all the uncertainty that surrounds the U.S. Postal Service these days.
The Board of Elections is to begin mailing back ballots starting Friday. It is expected to mail about 10,000, according to Linda Devore, an elections board member.
Help wanted
By the way, there is another way you can help if you are able: Sign up for a paid gig working at one of the poll sites. Robertson says they are still looking for people.
“I set my goals low to begin with at 750,” she said. “But I really need 850 to 900.”
As for me, I’ll be looking for our absentee ballots to arrive by mail soon. I have not made up my mind yet as to whether I’ll vote by mail or in-person.
But you had better believeI will be exercising early what John Lewis called my “almost sacred” right to vote.
Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.
