Go Vote. Now, If You Can.

It’s fun. Get it over with.

One of the things I’ve learned after living in the state of Georgia for almost 10 years is that I tend not to mess around with voting on Election Day. Lines are inevitably long — and they’d be longer if I lived in a different neighborhood than the one I live in — the place is always crowded and stressed and everyone’s all very dialed up on Election Day. Georgia is obviously a vital state in this year’s midterm election, not just for control of the Senate but for the governorship of the state, so everyone is on their toes. They’ve made it so that if you want to vote, you better be on your toes.

Which is why I always vote early. This year, I voted on Tuesday, October 18, the second day early voting opened here in Georgia, three weeks before actual election day. I got it out of the way.

(Sorry about the mustache, it’s for my Little League baseball team, I hate it.)

The process was simple, easy and efficient. There is only one voting spot open in Clarke County, where I live, and it’s at the Board of Elections downtown. I waited in line for 15 minutes, I was helped by some very earned volunteers, I received my little stylus to tap the candidates I wanted to vote for, I filed my ballot, I made my voice heard. I didn’t even get through three Wilco songs on my Spotify before I was out of there.

And it felt great. Doesn’t it feel great to vote? For all the ugliness of our political moment — and there is a lot of ugliness — it is undeniable that there is a legitimate rush that happens when you, personally, little old you, participate in the democratic process. In the macro, politics will erode your soul. But in the micro, it feels great to be a part. I’m never prouder to be an American than when I vote.

There were still little warning signs of the world outside the voting booth. One man in front of me, when he filed his ballot, decided he would make a joke. “Is the machine that changes all the votes?” he said, smiling. Everyone sort of chuckled nervously, but when he left, one of the volunteers leaned over to me.

“I find those jokes a lot less funny than I used to,” he said. I can only imagine how many times he’ll hear that “joke” by Election Day.

Only four states don’t offer any sort of early voting: New Hampshire, Mississippi, Connecticut and Alabama. Everywhere else, you can vote before Election Day. Some states are already open like Georgia, some you have to wait until next week. But you can go, right now, over your lunch hour, or just while you’re waiting to pick up your kid from school, or right before you hit Happy Hour. You can get it over with, just have your vote counted and then watch what happens with everybody else. This, like all elections these days, is going to be a stressful one. I cannot recommend getting done with your small part of it as quickly, and efficiently, and quietly, as possible. You don’t even need a mustache to do it.

So go get it done. And no jokes, please.

Will Leitch writes multiple pieces a week for Medium. Make sure to follow him right here. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his family and is the author of five books, including the Edgar-nominated novel How Lucky, now out from Harper Books. He also writes a free weekly newsletter that you might enjoy.