A S C R A P B O O K O F S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P H O T O G R A P H E R
Enhancing the enjoyment of taking pictures with news that matters, features that entertain and images that delight. Published frequently.
6 November 2018
Later today we'll find out if it was merely a coincidence we rolled back the clock two days before going to the polls. Or if that's the way the wind is blowing now.
There was a line of voters outside our polling place this morning before it opened at 7 a.m. We observed them from the front window as our coffee machine was warming up, planning to join them later today when the crowd thins out.
Joyce, however, went up right away before work. Already, she said, there were quite a few people. And the poll workers were very helpful, as they always are, making the whole thing very efficient. With a four-page ballot, that helps.
Early voting has been unusually heavy throughout the nation. That's one way to combat the voter suppression strategies of those seeking to remain in power regardless of the will of the people. Storm the gates.
The nation today elects the members of Congress.
The nation today elects the members of Congress. The entire House of Representatives, which faces election every two years. And much of the Senate, where terms run six years.
In How Congress Stopped Working, ProPublica and the Washington Post jointly reported, "Today's legislative branch, far from the model envisioned by the founders, is dominated by party leaders and functions as a junior partner to the executive." The report studied how congressional leaders control debate on bills. And that, too, is a story of suppression.
Today's midterm election may not be as glamorous as the presidential election held every four years, but it provides voters a chance to correct the course of one of the three branches of the U.S. government. And we only get to vote for two of them.
The illustration accompanying this piece is of graffiti painted on the sea wall along Ocean Beach, a three-mile stretch of sand on the western edge of San Francisco where the undertow claims lives every year despite posted warnings.
Who sees it? we wondered as we walked by a couple of years ago.
Not enough people, we thought. So we've taken matters into our hands to make it visible to everyone.
Regardless of which way the wind blows.