So a few months ago we had a primary election here, and I researched the candidates and decided who I was going to vote for and drove to the local high school to vote. Normally I'm a bit intimidated but I manage to get past it and vote. This time, however, there was a huge crowd at the school, maybe for some kind of sporting event, and the large number of people intimidated me so much that I couldn't drive into the parking lot. I drove around the block a few times and back to the school and couldn't bring myself to do it, beating myself up with criticism the whole time.
Obviously it would be best if I overcome my fears, etc., but voting is too important to be experimenting with, so I researched whether social anxiety is a valid reason to get absentee ballots, and a local disability advocacy legal organization confirmed that it is:
"The purpose of absentee ballots is to make it possible for people to vote who otherwise are unable to make it to the polls. Thus, if social anxiety is preventing you from voting because you are unable to make it to the polls, you should qualify to vote via absentee ballot."
Anyway, I'm going to send in an application, and I thought this might be helpful to others who struggle with the same thing. Look into whether your state allows this.
xx
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