They Turned Voters Away in Dallas

We’re in the “please send me a donation” cycle of the post-election phase. My wife got one of those messages yesterday. “Why is some rich guy in Texas asking me for money? How did he get my number?”I posted this online last night and I immediately got a round of replies.“Me too.”“Same here.”“They hit me up with three!”Every single election cycle is the same. The vote happens. The ballots are counted. A winner is declared. The winning candidate asks for money. You can also sprinkle in a couple angry posts about how only a small percentage of the population participated and everyone should be “ashamed” of themselves.“What the heck is wrong with people? Why can’t they show show any respect to their country? I guess they get what they deserve!”We often talk about poverty shaming, maybe we should also talk about election shaming.No matter whether you inhabit the pages of oligarch owned traditional media or oligarch owned social media, the stories are all the same. It’s celebration, it’s asking for money, and it’s election shaming.Nobody ever pauses to mention that maybe we should insist that every vote is counted.What happened in Dallas, Texas on March 4th 2026 was an absolute disgrace. Voters were told incorrect locations. There weren’t enough locations. They tried to make their way to the right places and couldn’t get through traffic. One judge ruled the polling places should stay open a few more hours, and then the state Supreme Court roused itself to smash that order to bits.Voters were turned away. That’s not a conspiracy theory, that happened. That’s bad. But what’s even worse is that we’re not even allowed to be mad at it.“What the heck is with Walter? He’s still complaining about the election! What a sore loser! It’s time to consolidate around the winning candidate! We’ve got to build a ‘big tent!’”Well, the thing about a ‘big tent’ is that you have to work with people you don’t agree with. The Democratic party doesn’t agree with me. But if they want me in their tent, they have to show a little respect about what I have to say. Before you get all riled up, here are my two boundaries that I will not compromise:* I will not accept candidates that are tolerant of racism* I demand candidates that demand all votes are countedAnyone who snorts at me and tells me my demands are ridiculous enables white supremacy and election theft.In election after election there is conflict and confusion. There are long lines. There are provisional ballots that get lost or go uncounted. This happens again and again and again.But in the immediate aftermath of any declaration of victory, you’re treated as a pariah for saying, “We must ensure every vote is counted.”I’m tired of the pressure to force a candidate to concede within a day of the polls opening. I want recounts. I want court cases. I want accountability. I want free and fair elections.Let’s be real everyone, we do not have free and fair elections in the United States of America because white supremacists do everything they can to stop marginalized groups from casting a vote.But it doesn’t stop there.When the vote is cast, white supremacists do everything they can to throw the vote away.When the vote is counted, white supremacists do everything they can to throw the vote out.If the vote is cast and counted, white supremacists do everything they can to harass the voter and intimidate her from ever voting again.If the woman continues to vote, white supremacists hunt her down and kill her and burn down her house.That’s America.If you are angrier at me for pointing it out than you are at the white supremacists who are out there destroying lives, it’s time to take a look in the mirror.The American people have to stop allowing powerful people to shout us into silence. When people scream “get out the vote!” we have to demand that there are enough polling places and ballots for us to cast those votes. The idea that some groups have to wait in line for hours only to be turned away should enrage everyone.But that’s business as usual in the United States. It doesn’t enrage the white supremacists. They’re the ones out there saying, “Well, obviously the country isn’t ready for a Black woman.” That’s a declaration of racism friends. So is, “Your popular candidate isn’t ‘electable.’”They declare their racism in a million ways.The people who are out there shaming rational individuals who are calling for vote suppression to be removed from the system are overlooking a critical element. These are the primaries! These are a trial run. Just because your candidate is the beneficiary of vote suppression here doesn’t mean they’ll be the beneficiary in the general election.The white supremacists are going to do the same thing when a seat of power is at stake. In fact, their efforts will be even more nefarious. They’ve done it in every election I can remember. They’re going to keep doing it until they are stopped.The people out there saying, “Now’s not the time for that, now’s the time to get behind the winning candidate,” are enablers of white supremacy.The truth is that now is the time for lawsuits. Now is the time to hold people accountable. Now is the time for white supremacists to be caught red handed and sent to jail.It’s not unreasonable to demand elections with zero wait times. It’s not unreasonable to demand elections that schedule enough time so everyone can get to the polling place. It’s not unreasonable to demand that every ballot is counted.It is unreasonable to rush the whole process, ignore the problems, and scream at the people who indicate how the system failed.We can’t do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Every election is unfair. That’s not an exception, that’s a feature. In fact, it’s by design, and the response of both parties is irrefutable proof that nobody is interested in following the will of the people.That is unacceptable. It’s time to remind our representatives that they serve us, not the other way around.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI’m so happy you’re here, and I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe