Shortly after 9/11, the expression “new normal” came into vogue. It was supposed to describe the new regimen of measures everybody was going to have to get used to as the nation adjusted to the terrorist threat. But it has become a reminder of how unevenly the impact of that day’s attack has been distributed.

Democrats and civil rights groups headed off the closure of polling places in Randolph County last week, but that was only a small part of a much bigger battle over ballot access.

Last week Secretary of State Brian Kemp refused to step down to avoid any conflict of interest in the upcoming election, and a federal court mulled a suit demanding the state go back to paper ballots, now. It’s a far cry from 16 years ago, when we were talking about a future in which voting would be as easy as going to the mall.

The political class is already stocking up popcorn for the study in contrasts that is this year’s Georgia governor’s race. Unfortunately, the race is also likely to mark a milestone in the politics of dark money electioneering, which for the average voter means endless waves of scary black-and-white attack ads paid for by organizations with fuzzy names.

It’s a open seat, the race is neck to neck and lots of money is being spent by both campaigns. By all rights, we should be expecting a healthy turnout next week in the runoff election to pick the Republican candidate for governor. A sharp drop in turnout could be a warning sign voters are tiring of the race to be “craziest.”

As the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, nearly a third of Americans say a second civil war is likely in the next five years. If they’re right, the next civil war won’t be anything like the last one.