Early voting in Franklin County began Tuesday October 6 and ends on November 2. Hours of operation are here. The Early voting location at 1700 Morse Rd is within a 20-minute drive from most everywhere within I-270 outer-belt. Based on my own experience and some friends who have voted, I was very much impressed by the professionalism and ease of voting. The Franklin County Board of Elections has taken all the necessary COVID -19 precautions. The location is large, and at every point, social distancing is greater than 6 feet, and there is plexiglass everywhere.

Voting enthusiasm is incredibly high. The location at Morse Road was formerly a Kohl's, neighbored by Sam Ash Music and a HomeBuys store that formerly was a Kroger. On the first day of voting, the line began forming at 4:30 in the morning. By the time the Board of Elections (BOE) opened the doors, the line wound all the way behind the building. Of course, voters observed social distancing and the line moved quickly, as the BOE can process 800 voters an hour. A friend of mine waited in that long line, which was a 90-minute wait.

What if we stopped separating the looming national chaos into separate categories —racism, climate change, war, vote suppression, election theft, pandemic, science denial, white supremacy, police brutality, etc. — and tried looking at it all at once?

This may be the legacy of Donald Trump, our first corkscrew-in-chief: He has popped the cork on who we are and reality, so it seems, is gushing uncontrollably like never before. Trump, with his defiance of political correctness and the norms of the status quo, not to mention his desire to be the American Mussolini — unchallenged in his leadership either by election results or medical consensus — has created much of the chaos on his own. But the bulk of the chaos is simply America the Terrible emerging from the shadows: our real history suddenly visible.

I appreciate the spirt of solidarity in this statement at a time when a number of prominent progressives are calling for a Biden vote everywhere and against a Green vote anywhere. That could wipe out the Green Party for failing to meet the votes threshold for ballot status in many states.

 

This statement also has its priorities straight. Election protection to stop Trump from stealing the election is what we have to do to send Trump packing from the White House to his waiting prison cell. Scapegoating the Greens is a diversion from this top priority.

 

Green presidential campaigns bring new voters to the polls who are disgusted with both corporate parties. 2016 exit polls showed that 61% of Jill Stein voters would have stayed home had she not been on the ballot.

 

Plug that percentage into Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania and the outcome would not have changed in 2016. It has been Black voter suppression and the Electoral College, not the Green Party, that has put Republican popular-vote losers in the presidency in the 21st century.

 

Columbus City School Families and Teachers Call on Superintendent Dixon to improve communications, collaborate with the teacher’s union and school staff, and deploy a comprehensive survey to student caregivers before finalizing plans.

A large group of concerned parents and caretakers, including Columbus City School teachers and staff, are calling on Superintendent Dixon and the school board to reconsider their current plan for school reopening. Most concerning is the lack of communication that the Columbus City School Board has demonstrated with their recent announcement to return to school on October 19, 2020, earlier than originally announced in July and without approval from the Columbus Education Association, the local teacher’s union. This has not gone unnoticed in the district community, and caregivers and parents of CCS students are actively organizing a petition and social media campaign to amplify individual concerns and demonstrate collective support for teachers and the CEA.