It’s election day in Virginia, but I voted weeks ago. The generous stretch of time now set aside for Virginians to cast their ballots makes autumn not just a season of raking but also of voting. Which means no excuses. You’d have to be stuck in the international space station to miss voting in my state.

In the year since our last election I’ve been trying to understand our deep partisan divide. I’ve read books, newspapers and articles, listened to podcasts, talked with friends and family. I can’t say I have it figured out but it’s worth noting that though our voting hours have expanded, our choices have not.

I don’t mean our choice of candidates, but our choices, period. As Ezra Klein points out in his book Why We’re Polarized, the parties used to be scrambled. There were as many Republicans against the Vietnam War as there were Democrats. This curbed parties’ power as identities “and lowered the partisan stakes of politics,” Klein notes.

But in the last few decades politics and identities have been merging. House Democrats represent 78 percent of Whole Foods locations but only 27 percent of Cracker Barrels. We’ve sorted ourselves into blue states and red states. We shop at blue stores or red stores, socialize with mostly Democrats or mostly Republicans.

“As our many identities merge into single political mega-identities, those visceral, emotional stakes are rising — and with them, our willingness to do anything to make sure our side wins,” Klein writes.

How to recoup from such entrenchment? I haven’t finished the book yet. I’ll get back to you later.