Party Line

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Having a pandemic occur during an election year, the stakes were never higher for the Presidency. And for Franklin County in Ohio, Party Line provides a glimpse into the early voting process that occurred during that time. With everything on the line for the 2020 election, Director Lydia Cornett proves that voting is more than a rite of passage. It is something that we celebrate and embrace, no matter our political affiliation.

With a pandemic in full swing in 2020, the residents in Franklin County, Ohio are lining up to for early voting. Most just stand in line and patiently wait to go inside, but others take the voting process to a new level. There are cut-outs of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Ruth Bader Ginsburg for voters to pose with. Candidates for county positions speak to those in line, encouraging them to vote for them. An artist named Katanya Ingram utilizes her vocals and plays music next to a placard she has created for Columbus Makes Art. People are dancing while they wait. Some Black Lives Matter protesters are preaching anti-abortion epithets to the crowds. And at least one Donald Trump supporter stands alone as nobody will approach him in aid. Yet when each person walks in to perform their civic duty of casting their vote, they are all the same. They are calm, cordial and respectful walking up to the voting booth to lock in their decision.

Lydia Cornett reminds us that the political divide during the 2020 election was quite apparent in our country, especially in a place such as Franklin County, Ohio. As stated at the end of Party Line, in 2011 Ohio state law made it so that there was only one early voting site per county. And with Franklin County as the most populated in the state, 117,356 voted early and in-person for the 2020 general election. Party Line shows that most early voters were not Republican voters, evidenced by how many showed solidarity for Biden or a non-Trump candidate. The documentary’s title also denotes a double meaning, as those who were in line were not afraid to celebrate that right to vote. With a mixed group of all ethnicities and backgrounds people came together and supported one another for their right to stand in that line and be a part of the bigger picture. And once they got inside the voting booth, they got right down to business.

As the fight goes on in protecting the rights of voters, it is important that many of us remember to celebrate that we still can vote and be heard. And you know, maybe have some fun with that choice along the way.