The October weather in Phoenix Arizona was nearly perfect as Juan pulled the pickup into his driveway. It had been another rough day at work. By now, all of Juan’s crews were chronically short-handed, but Richard still managed to find a way to keep the little company afloat. What’s this? Juan saw the big, official-looking envelope in his mailbox.
An eye-catching logo with sweeping lines read, “Official Election Mail.” And there was a checkmark in the letter ‘O’ of the word election. So, this is it, huh? It’s finally arrived.
Juan took the mail and his toolbelt and went inside. He crept inside because he knew Maria would still be sleeping. He’d have an hour or two until she woke up and began preparing dinner.
He put his tools away and took off his boots. Sitting down in his chair, he began sorting through the mail. Most of it was junk. He’d saved the ballot for last. Turning the envelope over in his hands, he thought, maybe this is the one that will decide the whole thing? He smiled for the merest instant. Concern and worry clawed his expression into a deep frown as he reflected on the events leading him to this moment.
He’d sworn an oath to his adopted country, and now it was time to fulfill his duty. He thought of the vagrants he’d encountered in the alley behind his house and the little girl who’d been shot. He thought also of his children and their dreams, and how much more difficult those were now with all his financial problems. His teeth ground together, and he dug into a drawer to find a pen.
In the quiet of his living room, Juan took the time to read and re-read the ballot’s instructions several times. He wanted to get it right. After he was satisfied that he understood the procedure, he carefully read through the different ballot initiatives, referendums, recall applications, and finally, the candidates.
There were many he’d never heard of. So he read through them slowly and tried not to guess any more than necessary. There were initiatives to raise the minimum wage, to open the primaries to all parties, and to amend the constitution to establish abortion as a fundamental right in Arizona. He had strong opinions on many of these subjects, and it took him a long time to decide on them.
His frown deepened to a scowl, and he thought of his Tio Pablo when he read the Better Ballot Arizona application. It was written in legal jargon that was hard for him to understand. Eventually, he decided that the initiative allowed independents or those with no party affiliation to vote in the primaries. How does this make it better? He wondered. I think it would make it more of a mess than it already is!
It felt good to be participating in democracy this way. My judgment matters.
He made his marks, filling in the little bubbles with his pen until only one choice remained. Who would he vote for to be the President of the United States? For Juan, it came down to a choice between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
“This is an easy one,” he said aloud. Then he filled in the bubble for Joe Biden.
When he finished, Juan placed the completed ballot inside a white envelope, which he signed and dated. After that, he put the white envelope inside another, yellow envelope. He wrote his return address on that.
“What are you doing?” Maria asked, yawing as she emerged from their room.
Juan held up the envelope. “I just voted.”
“Mmm…” she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “That’s good. I hope this time the election doesn’t have so much trouble.”
What Could Go Wrong?
Choose Option 1: Vote Count Stopped
Choose Option 2: Call for a Recount