Election day isn’t until November 7, but I swung by the county government center today and cast my vote early. This is something Long COVID is not going to stop me from doing!
As with so many errands, it required building up a little energy and making sure there was time to rest after. It helped that my doctor’s office is near the polling place so both flu shot and voting are checked off for 2023. A double win.
Virginia is one of only four states — along with Mississippi, Louisiana, and New Jersey — that holds off-year elections. That means that every year we are voting for either state or federal office, and every year is important.
This year Virginia elections have wide-reaching ramifications. Right now the Republicans control the Governor’s seat and the House of Delegates. The Democrats control the Senate only by a slim majority. And many of these seats are up for a vote.
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has made no secret of his desire to pass an abortion ban the moment his party regains its trifecta. I voted today to keep that from happening. With Virginia being the only remaining southern state not to severely restrict or completely outlaw abortion, a ban here would mean there are ever fewer places left in this country where people can get the reproductive health care they need.
That’s only the beginning. There are Republican plans to roll back gun violence protection measures and to further gag and intimidate educators.
In Fairfax County where I live, we are also electing the members of our Board of Supervisors and our County School Board. While school board elections might seem like a yawn in normal times, these times are anything but. My county’s school board has been one of the holdouts against Gov. Youngkin’s “model policies” for the treatment of transgender students. His policies threaten the safety of queer, nonbinary, and trans kids all over the state and he has insisted that all schools must adhere to them.
Fairfax County’s school board has so far defied Youngkin’s order and has instead kept in place protections for all kids. The school board is also standing up to book bans in school libraries and restrictions on those teaching comprehensive American and Virginia history. I want to make sure that the board we elect this fall keeps taking this strong stance.
It required a bit of time over the weekend to look through the platforms of every member running for the at-large seats on the Fairfax county school board (there are 9 candidates and you can only vote for 3!) But I walked into the polling place today confident that the people getting my vote share my values.
Voting early in person was a breeze. It’s a relief to know my vote is in and logged this election cycle. If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that there are no guarantees. Tomorrow my health situation could change again. Today, though, I felt well enough to be not just a person managing a chronic illness but also a citizen and an advocate for kids in my community. It’s a small act of love and justice. But it still counts.
Shannon E. Williams 
the future is disabled
https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/technology-ableism-disability/