Even for those of us who care deeply about democracy and believe that voting is the most powerful single action we can take to make life better for all South Africans, voting can feel like a chore.
But it need not be that way. Here are a few things you can do to make voting feel more like a celebration than a chore.
Embrace the queue
Voting day is defined by the dreaded queue. In a world of online appointments, same-day delivery, self-service screens and other conveniences and efficiencies, the voting-day queue is one of the few queues you still cannot avoid. Even applying for a special early vote, asking to skip the queue because of disability or old age, or going to vote right before the station closes, does not guarantee you the elusive and sought-after “in-and-out” voting experience.
I’ve heard of people going to great lengths to avoid the queue, from registering at a friend’s address because they perceive their voting station to be less busy, or driving past their own voting station several times throughout the day until the queue looks manageable, to borrowing a moon boot and crutches to fake an injury.
Instead of spending so much energy trying to avoid the queue, why not embrace it? If you’re going to be standing there for a while anyway, you may as well prepare.
To prepare mentally, block out several hours of your day. If it takes all that time, then you won’t feel as though you’ve lost or wasted it, and if it takes less time, then you have a few free hours. You can also bring something to occupy the time, like a book, some music, or questions to start a conversation with your fellow voters. The time will pass just the same, whether you’re tapping your feet and checking your watch, or catching up on your favourite podcast. Just make sure you bring your headphones.
To prepare physically, bring a water bottle and a snack. The November sun can be brutal, and many voting stations don’t have much indoor space, so you’ll be grateful for some sunscreen and a hat. If you find standing for a long time uncomfortable or painful, a portable chair is a good idea, as long as you don’t mind the envious looks from those standing around you.
Bring a friend
The thing about standing in a queue is that it’s not something you do alone. Voting is something we all do together and is one of the few instances in which we are all equal. Nobody’s vote is worth more or less than anyone else’s, and we all have to live with the consequences. That is especially true when we elect our local government. Lean into the togetherness by bringing a friend or family member.
Or you could make a friend in the queue. You will be among people who live in your community, so voting day is a great time to get to know someone who dodges the same potholes and experiences the same power outages as you. Maybe they can add you to a community WhatsApp group that you didn’t know about.
Via the #PledgeToVote campaign, we asked people who had committed to voting in these elections who they would bring along to vote. Almost 80% of the respondents to this informal survey said they were voting with a family member. About 10% said they were voting with a friend, and 6% said they were being joined by a neighbour at the polls.
Make a day of it
Once you have embraced the queue and involved a friend or family member, you may as well make a day of it. If your friends don’t vote at the same station as you, plan to meet up afterwards to chat about your voting experience over a coffee. Light the braai with your family when you get home. Go to your favourite spot in nature and appreciate this beautiful country that you have just voted to improve.
You can even start your own voting day tradition, like the Australians have done with the ‘democracy sausage’: a barbecue sausage in bread, often topped with onions and tomato sauce, sold by fundraising stands at voting stations. I’ve never had one, but I don’t need to to know a boerie roll would put a democracy sausage to shame.
Our democracy is something to be celebrated, but the joy and election fervour surrounding our relatively peaceful transition in 1994 has been eclipsed by shameless greed and corruption, failing infrastructure and services, and devastating poverty. That doesn’t mean democracy hasn’t worked, isn’t worth defending, or should be given up on.
It’s true that we voted ourselves into this mess, but the beauty of democracy is that we can vote ourselves out of it.
And if there’s something South Africans know how to do, it’s celebrate. So, let’s celebrate voting.
[Image: by wirestock]
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