It wasn’t the easiest of Saturdays to get out the vote—from road closures for a city-wide marathon to afternoon drizzle. (Any Washingtonian knows that either of those factors is enough to send us into gridlock.) But D.C. Republicans turned up and patiently waited in a line that wrapped around three city blocks. The popular refrain of the day: “Wow, I didn’t realize there were so many Republicans in this city!” The D.C. Board of Elections counts 27,998 registered Republicans to be exact. But I can tell you their numbers are off, and I found out the hard way.
After waiting in line for three hours, chatting with my neighbors and fellow Republicans, I finally reached the gateway to the inner room. I eagerly offered up my last name and waited to be waved in. But much to my surprise, my name was nowhere to be found on the GOP registry. A quick search of the database by a caucus volunteer found me registered as “no party”—despite the fact that my D.C. voter registration card reads “Republican.” Little consolation though it was, the volunteers informed me I wasn’t the only one. In fact, at the time I arrived at the registration checkpoint, I was the 60th District resident to be left off the Republican rolls by my local election board. With the polls open another couple hours after that, one can assume that number increased, and in election results separated by just 50 votes, that’s a notable margin.
So what happened? Well, I don’t know about the 59 or so other D.C. residents, but when I called the Board of Elections Monday, they acknowledged I had done my part to register Republican, but was dropped off due to a volunteer’s error on my change-of-address form. I must officially file a change of party form—even though I haven’t changed parties since I started voting in 2002.
When you check the Republican box as a voter in Washington, D.C., you know what you’re signing up for. With the local electorate 75 percent Democrat and a closed primary system, D.C. Republicans go out to vote not because our voice will really be heard but out of love for the process and our country. I’ll admit after several years of voting in the District, my greatest reward is usually the “I Voted” sticker. I may not carry any sway, but at least I could be counted.
Perhaps that’s one reason we turned out in droves. We finally had our moment in the strangest primary season in recent history, and we were ready to choose our 19 delegates to the RNC. Delegate candidates worked the voter line and crowded as close to the polls as possible to make their final pitches. It was the stuff political geek-outs are made of.
If Saturday’s primary showed us nothing else, it’s that the District’s Republicans show up: We know what’s at stake in 2016. I may have lost my chance to vote this time around, but I didn’t lose my chance to stand with my neighbors. Even on the occasions when our vote has little to no sway, it’s a privilege to get a ballot. D.C. Republicans may not make headlines again anytime soon, but we’ll keep showing up—perhaps a little more heartened having been reminded there are at least a few of us. According to the Board of Elections, we make up 6.25 percent of the electorate here, but it’s probably time for them to check their math.
Kari Barbic is a writer in Washington, D.C.
