I voted today in local elections. An African-American man
was in line before me. He had already been verified and given a ballot.
One of the election judges—an older white man who was wearing
a VFW hat— stopped the voter and said, “Where’s Branch Street?”
The African-American
man politely explained that it’s a small street east of Mattis Road.
The VFW
judge replied, “I’ve never heard of it.”
The voter explained again in a patient
tone and concluded, “It’s there.”
The VFW judge said, again, “I still can’t
picture where the street is.”
By this time, I was growing visibly annoyed. I was being
delayed by an absurd conversation—and more to the point, it appeared that this was racially motivated voter harassment.
I can’t say this for sure—the judge
spoke in a polite and good-natured tone, and the voter didn’t seem to be
offended.
The female judge sitting next to the VFW judge tapped the
judge on the forearm and said, “Please, let’s move the process along. This man
(me) is here to vote.”
Nonetheless, I registered my two concerns with our County
Clerk. First, why is an election judge permitted to wear an organizational hat
in his role as a judge? Members of the VFW have fought to preserve and defend
my right to vote. I honor and deeply appreciate that.
Nonetheless, the VFW has been critical of Pres. Obama. Its
national commander, in 2013, made headlines by railing against the
then-president. “We don’t have confused politics, … and we don’t need any
President of the United States lecturing us about how we are individually
[affected] by the economy.” My point isn’t that the VFW can’t be a political
body—of course they can. My point is that I don’t want any hint of politics at
the polls, especially from an election judge. (And, by the way, aren’t you
supposed to take your hat off in a church? That’s the old-school way I was
taught.)
My second and more central concern: This conversation
appeared to question the honesty of a black voter. That is shameful and cannot
be tolerated.
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