Election Day poses hard choice for the jobless
It felt like every cell in his body was screaming for a cigarette, but all Anthony Rolls had were the cheap cigars, five for a dollar, he grabbed from the gas station — that is, when he felt safe leaving the house at all.
“When you’re a smoker, that’s about all you can do for the stress,” he said, shrugging his wide shoulders in the living room of the Waldorf, Md., townhouse that his brother owns and that he has barely left for seven weeks.
“Got to ration those,” he said of his cigarettes.
The Saturday before the election, Rolls, 46, was among the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus and found themselves caught in a social safety net that is failing under a new burden.
Rolls’ unemployment benefits stopped nearly seven weeks ago because of bureaucratic confusion. He is two months behind on rent. His phone only works now on WiFi, which means he’s been chained to his townhouse’s 1,344 square feet, firing off emails to elected officials for help and waiting for the phone call from the Maryland department that might fix the situation, while constantly watching election coverage on television. He has voted in every presidential election. Because he moved since the last cycle, he has to go in person on Election Day to register to vote.
He is weighing whether he should go to the polls and risk missing that call.
“How’s that not voter suppression?” he said. “There are probably hundreds, maybe thousands, of us in this situation, and there’s nothing we can do but take it.”
The Maryland Department of Labor did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Rolls’ case.
He had been working as a cook at a Bob Evans for $13.50 an hour when the pandemic hit in March. When he applied for unemployment, his claim was rejected because two years ago he had been on unemployment. The state had overpaid him and later slapped him with late fees and interest.
“Yesterday I received a call from unemployment saying that unless I gave them 1000 dollars cash no benefits would be released to me,” he wrote on April 24 to the office of Del. Debra Davis, D-Charles. “I don’t have 2 dollars in my pocket, no food and bills piling up. I need help bad please. I have been holding on for 5 weeks. I can’t hold on no more.”
Working with the department, Rolls was able to funnel his stimulus money and a portion of his unemployment benefits into those old payments. His unemployment checks began arriving in April, and eventually, he was told he only owed 92 cents to the department.
But in September his payments stopped, and again he was alerted that he owed the department $346 for the same issue he thought had been resolved.
“After receiving the 600 per week in extra unemployment for four months, then the 1800 dollars from the president’s executive order, my payments were stopped 3 weeks ago,” he wrote again to Davis’ office on Oct. 7. “As of now they owe me more than I owe them. If the money is owed, please just take it and release the rest. I’m hurting over here and need help. It’s been 3 weeks.”
The next day, Davis’ office responded: “Unfortunately, not much has changed since the last time you emailed us,” amember of the staff wrote. “The most that representing offices can do for constituents experiencing unemployment issues is to keep requesting expedited assistance.”
That assistance did not come, and by mid-October Rolls was emailing the office of state Sen. Arthur Ellis, D-Charles.
“I know you are doing what u can but it has been 30 days,” he wrote on Oct. 14. “As of now, unemployment owes me $874. They say I owe 346 from 2 years ago. Please just take the money and release the rest. I’m at the end of my rope here. Next step is go put it around my neck and jump off a chair. I need your help please.”
“Please don’ t harm yourself. We’ll do our best to help as much as possible,” came the quick response from a staffer that same day. “Also, please note that many agencies are functioning under ‘mission critical’ status and have reduced staffing in light of the COVID-19 crisis. This reduction may cause a longer response time to your inquiry.”
Then Rolls wrote on Oct. 19: “I been eating mand ms and water since Thursday. m and m’s ran out Saturday,” he wrote. “5 weeks I been stuck in the house, can’t go nowhere or do nothing. Can’t do nothing, can’t go register, can’t go early vote with 2 weeks to the election.”
And on Oct. 26: “Today makes 6 weeks and $1296 they owe. What do we do now?”
And on Friday: “I am beyond frustrated,” he wrote. “I’m dead broke 2 months behind on rent. and they can’t even give u an update now. What does that even mean, please explain? What am I supposed to do?”
Depression, anger, suicidal thoughts — Rolls said he’s cycled through it all sitting in the townhouse. Friends were no longer answering calls when he needed to borrow money. His sister had recently paid his $233 cable and internet bill.
He wanted to vote this year, but he still wasn’t sure whether he could risk leaving the house. The department might call. “If I go, I’ll scrape together the two dollars for the bus. But I don’t know.”
He also was still undecided.
“Leaning toward Biden,” he said. “But I don’t know. Trump, the stuff he does that gets everyone upset, he’s not doing it to me. And if it wasn’t for the president, I would be four months behind on rent.”
He sighed. “Money talks.”