South Enders —

Let’s Make a Plan to Vote

 

This year, with so many uncertainties due to COVID-19, each of us needs to make a plan to vote. It’s a fact of life that neighborhoods with high voter turnout get better attention and services, so your vote counts even more!

Voting is easier than ever, but it’s important to understand how to use the new ways to vote, and which is best for you. Making a plan allows us to see ourselves voting, anticipate any problems that might occur, and prepare alternatives to ensure that our votes will count!

First, make sure you are registered and the Board of Elections has your correct address. The deadline for registering is coming up fast: October 9 by mail or in person. If you’re not sure, just call, email or visit the Board of Elections and ask.  Or use the web site www.vote411.org to find out if you’re registered, where your polling place is, and where you can vote early.  It takes about 1 minute!

Second, Decide — will you vote by absentee ballot or in person? This year there are three ways to vote:

·      Absentee ballot, which is now available to everyone.

·      In-person early voting, starting on October 24.

·      In-person voting on Election Day (November 3).

The Albany County Board of Elections: This is all made easier by the fact that the Board of Elections office is conveniently located in our neighborhood at 224 South Pearl Street (the old DMV building). Their phone number is (518) 487-5060, and email is boardofelections@albanycounty.com. The office is open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., there is a Sheriff’s Deputy on patrol outside the building during those hours and they are set up for social distancing, so we don’t need to be concerned about in-person visits. The website is https://www.albanycounty.com/departments/board-of-elections

Absentee Ballots: This year many of us will apply for an absentee ballot even if we plan to vote in person. The Board of Elections website has an easy link to request the absentee ballot form, or you call, email, or go in-person to the board office. Help is also available for persons with low vision. Two cautions:

·      The website makes it clear that you can order an absentee ballot for any reason by checking the box that says “Temporary illness or physical disability *Temporary illness includes being unable to appear due to risk of contracting or spreading a communicable disease like COVID-19. But this last line is not included on the printed form. Check that box anyway.  

• The U.S. Postal Service requests that those planning to vote by absentee ballot request their ballots as soon as possible, and that those planning to mail their ballots should do so at least seven days before the election.

The Board of Elections plans to have a drop-off box at the building, so you don’t have to mail or go in the building.Additional information about absentee voting in New York State is available here: https://www.elections.ny.gov/votingabsentee.html

Early Voting by machine begins Saturday, October 24 and end on Sunday November 1 at the Board of Elections office at 224 South Pearl Street.  Early voting is just the same as if you were voting on Election Day.  You can vote Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Monday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  To repeat: Albany County has Sheriff’s Deputies on patrol outside the building during office hours and the board office is set up for social distancing. 

Election Day Voting is from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you did not get a card from the Board of Elections with your polling place and are not sure, give them a call. 

Voting tips

Voting by mail is a healthy option because it lets you maintain physical distance and helps reduce crowding at in-person voting centers.

Early voting is also a healthy and time-saving option that lets you avoid the crowds on Election Day.

If you go out to vote - whether to drop off a ballot or vote in person - follow these common-sense precautions:

·       Wear a mask or other face covering.

·       Maintain a physical distance of 6 feet to protect yourself, election workers, and other voters.

·       Before and after voting, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

 

Who else can you bring with you? Or who can give you a ride if you need one?

What else do you need to consider? Do you need to take off work or secure childcare? If there are long lines or big crowds at the polls, what will be your backup plan?

 

 

 

 

 

At this time we at AVillage Inc., want to establish solidarity with all of those who are committed to anti-racism, equity, and prioritizing marginalized voices and the needs of vulnerable people. 

AVillage…, Inc. welcomes all neighbors and community members, groups, organizations, officials to join us in crafting and delivering a collective statement to combat racism, and systemic oppression with outlined demands, action steps and milestones to track progress. This statement will serve as the barometer for behavior and accountability in our community as well as communicate our priorities and how we wish to engage. 

2020 has demanded a lot of us as individuals, as a community, and as advocacy organizations. Despite being faced with fiscal/legislative challenges as a nation, then falling victim to a delayed response to a Pandemic disease that choked our medical institutions and resources, and consequently a resulting economic downturn due to businesses closing and surging unemployment. 

All of this is in the context of rampant and systemic inequality. One such example — being directed to flatten the curve by "social distancing" requires that those without privilege are further cut off from resources and services, and those in "essential" positions are overly exposed to risk with no hazard pay and often no personal protective equipment. 

In this climate, the youth have been deprived of their birthright experiences and rights of passage in our culture that we all enjoyed due to a raging pandemic that not only disrupted their school year, likely impacted their families economically, and is changing the landscape of their futures. They should be our ultimate priority at this time. Without resources, programming and responsible leadership they are taking to the streets. They are at risk. Any plan must prioritize their needs, both financial and emotional. 

In the midst of that "newer" crisis the perennial scourge of racism, institutional and interpersonal, still ravaged our communities and spread throughout social media. In a short period of time, we had national outrage over the racist false report from Amy Cooper in Central Park, the murders of Nina Pop, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade. 

This serves to continuously re-open old wounds as we are reminded of other murders of Black individuals that have gripped the headlines, e.g. Sandra Bland, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Atatiana Jefferson to name a few. On a local level, the incidents involving Ellazar Williams, Nah-Cream Moore, and Donald Shaw “Dontay” Ivy left the community feeling it has never felt been equitably addressed or adequately resolved. We put this in the context of the larger historical trauma and legacy of Rosewood, Black Wall Street, Emmet Till and countless other lynchings on American soil. 

This is traumatic. We are experiencing the full gambit of emotions from sadness, grief, fear, anger and eventual disgust... we know that many can personally never erase the imagery of a 200 pound Man on another Man’s neck who was handcuffed; it is emblazoned in our minds and we are deeply disturbed. This is the collective experience for us all we are certain and a sickening metaphor for the role of racism in our society — kneeling on our collective necks. “WE CANNOT BREATHE.” 

Not only were we all collectively traumatized by the videotaped murder of George Floyd, but we also watched in our city and across the world peaceful protestors being met with military tactics in some communities. 

Yes, there have been mass protests across the globe, perhaps they are disruptive to your attempts to carry on business. Some have devolved into riots, or as we acknowledge, open rebellion. Asking do we condone violence and looting, is like asking do we want there to be the resulting violence and oppressive response — of course not. Yet one can only expect people to scream into the void where justice is supposed to reside. Centuries-long repression will always bubble over as the natural state of man, as philosophers say, is to be free. 

In order to be strategic about how best to take action to create change we want to conduct listening sessions where the directly impacted, innocent bystanders, peaceful protestors, and deeply disturbed citizens will be allowed to air their grievances with the authorities and understand how their actions escalated and endangered communities they are responsible for protecting. 

We want to also dialogue on what sort of agreements can be reached and protocols changed to prevent this in the future. 

This is merely the beginning but we close out this letter extending our hand for you to join us, 

Signed, 

AVillage Board President, Tabetha Wilson 

To collaborate email us at: avillageworks@gmail.com or call 518-451-9849.