Voting with Alice the Anarchist
My friend Alice the Anarchist sat down at our usual table in Caffeination on Irving Street, and ordered her usual triple espresso. But something was different this time.
Alice no longer sported the “Deport Trump” button on her motorcycle jacket. Instead she wore a red, white and blue sticker that said “I Voted!”
“You’re no longer demanding Trump’s deportation?” I asked Alice.
She chewed her gluten-free apricot muffin a while, smiled, and started to explain.
“Yes, I am, I’ll wear the button again tomorrow. But today I opposed him by mailing in my Prop 50 ballot, in favor of redrawing the state’s voting district map,” answered Alice.
Before I could express my surprise at an anarchist supporting a Democratic voting plan, Alice said: “I know anarchists sometimes oppose voting. Emma Goldman once said that if voting changed anything, they would make it illegal. That’s exactly why I voted.”
“Trump is making voting illegal,” Alice continued, “he’s opposing mail-in ballots, so I mailed mine in. His Supreme Court is eviscerating the Voting Rights Act, and he may have National Guard troops police the polls and intimidate voters in 2026. Southern states are removing thousands of Democrat-likely and African-American names from the voting rolls, suppressing votes all over the place, as Greg Palast has reported. Voting threatens to weaken the GOP’s reign, so the Grand Old Party is making opposition to it illegal.”
Alice may have been drunk on espresso by this time, or just overjoyed by the turn of September events, as she ventured to propose more recall votes: “We should have recall elections every year for every candidate, give those elected more incentive to keep their constituents happy.”
“And,” I responded, “if Trump’s party loses, as it did in 2020, he’ll say the election was rigged -- illegal, so he makes voting illegal afterwards as well as before the vote. I suppose that’s why Prop 50 is called the Election Rigging Response Act.”
Alice nodded and downed her second triple espresso. She paused, took in some air, and added: “Of course, some of us who live on the West side of San Francisco already voted once this year, to remove what’s his name from office. I can’t recall that Supervisor....”
“Engardio, District Four’s Supervisor was recalled September,” I reminded her.
“Yes, that’s why I can’t recall him,” Alice mused, “but that was a wonderful exercise in democracy. I admit, I voted then, too, and it changed something, removed a man whose behavior displeased 63% of the voters.
Alice may have been drunk on espresso by this time, or just overjoyed by the turn of September events, as she ventured to propose more recall votes: “We should have recall elections every year for every candidate, give those elected more incentive to keep their constituents happy.”
“That’s a proposition I could support,” I admitted, “provided it’s all financed by a wealth tax.”
“We also need to vote with our feet, march for “No Kings” (especially if the would-be king comes from Queens, New York), march, sit-down and stand up against authoritarians as often as necessary,” said Alice as she put on her bike helmet and started to leave, “we shouldn’t rely on ballots to accomplish everything. But I wouldn’t mind recalling some more politicians, especially voting against those who want to make voting illegal.”
Joel Schechter has written several books on satire, and often writes for 48 Hills and Substack.
November 2025
