Today’s election day in these United States; midterms are *always* a big deal, despite usually crappy turnout, but that’s not gonna happen this year, right? Because this election’s a BIG DEAL; like the Washington Post said this week, “This midterm election is like no other in a generation”:

Tuesday’s midterm election is about many things. It’s about health care and immigration. It’s about the economy. It’s about power and who will hold it, both in Washington and in the states. Above all, it’s about something more elemental: what kind of country Americans see today and want to see in the future. That makes these midterms unlike any in the recent past.

Emphasis there is mine…but it’s really the gist of it. The last two years, no matter your political stripe, have been, well, different in this country. It’s been going this way for a while, and I could point you to a million navel-gazing articles about the lapses in civility and hyperpartisanship and whatnot, but the tone of Washington, and thus elections all over the place has changed, and not for the better, in my opinion, but as this is election day, I’m not going to spend anymore time on ideology, or on how anybody should vote; y’all know my positions on things.

No, I’m just going to tell you all to go out and vote – participate in democracy, do your civic duty; engage in the responsibility that comes along with your rights as a citizen. Be involved. If for some ridiculous reason you’re eligible and not registered, first, shame on you, but I forgive you – go get registered. Don’t know what’s on your ballot or where your polling place is? Check here or similar places to start; you’re already on the internet; use it!

As I say every year, it’s the absolute least you can do as a citizen.

Just get out and vote. It’s mid-terms. The whole House of Representatives is up; as is one-third of the Senate. You likely have some state or local offices (I’ve got Commonwealth’s Attorney) and a couple of ballot initiatives. This stuff’s important.

I’m going to close this out with a message from my friends, at, of all places, The Harry Potter Alliance, and their Wizard Rock The Vote campaign – my friend Steph Anderson and her band Tonks and the Aurors (who I’ve had the opportunity to sit in with once or twice) spent a good bit of this summer touring, playing wrock tunes for folks, and registering them to vote. It was cool. The HPA does lots of good stuff, but the GOTV efforts wrock.

You wouldn’t want to upset Dumbledore, would you?