Ms. Marvel: To the polls!

2022 Election

Tuesday is another chance to exercise our democracy. After the threats we’ve seen in recent years, I hope you’re taking full advantage of this opportunity. Go vote.

If you’re in West St. Paul (or even Dakota County), I’ve put together what I hope is a very helpful voter’s guide.

Our local races have been kind of quiet and uncontested, which worries me. One of the best ways to get turnout for important Congressional or state-wide races is with exciting local candidates.

Unfortunately, I’ve fully embraced the journalist role, so I just didn’t feel comfortable campaigning for anyone this year (Full disclosure: In 2020, I did campaign for state legislators who weren’t in my immediate area and I wouldn’t be covering, but after getting more experience with election coverage, that just seems like a bad idea). It doesn’t feel great to sit out the races, but I try to remind myself that putting together a voter’s guide is incredibly helpful. It just never feels like enough.

We’ll see how the mid-terms go. Every one of these elections feels like the most important ever (because they are). This time around I’m worried election denialism may not be completely repudiated at the ballot box like it should be. It feels like that’s what’s at stake here (and so many other issues, like protecting our LGBTQ friends and family or the embrace of Christian nationalism).

My biggest takeaway from the election coverage is that I continue to be shocked by candidates who refuse to answer simple questions. Do you think the 2020 election was legitimate? If you won’t answer that, you shouldn’t hold public office.

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