I clearly remember the blue curtains, the aroma of the neighborhood bake sale, and the sound of the lever as my mom pulled her votes.
While voting has changed some, I still get filled with excitement as the cooler weather sets in, the TV is full of campaign ads, and my neighborhood fills up with yard signs. It’s voting season!
I love to vote.
For someone who spent the first part of 7th grade making phone calls for a local state senate candidate, my fondness for the first Tuesday of November falls along the “wonkiness” end of the spectrum. When I became engaged to my husband, my mother’s blessing was contingent on my husband agreeing to register to vote!
Take your kids to vote.
I can’t wait for Election Day, so we can vote as a family unit before school and work. I’m not sure what my kids will remember about voting. Will it be the union volunteers passing out voter guides…or the Dunkin’ Donuts that await us each year? It really doesn’t matter what they recall, as long as they remember that we voted — each and every year.
My husband and I vote so our children will have a brighter future.
- We know our children may decide to run for office or run as far away from political involvement as possible.
- We know our children may decide that their beliefs don’t align with ours.
- We know that being a good parent means being an engaged citizen.
No matter what our children grow up to be, it’s our hope they will hold onto the belief that voting is not only a right – but their privilege as American citizens.
This election season please remember that whether you are a woman, a minority, or someone who loves them — the right to vote was hard won by tireless citizen activists who raised their voices to secure our right to vote.
Please VOTE – your children, and mine, are counting on it.