Vote Tank | Grey Vote Tee | White Vote tee | I Voted 2016! Oversized Tee | Kiss Me I Voted Tee
May we get serious for a minute? Tuesday is Election Day. Are you ready to vote? Have you already participated in early voting?
One of the things we sometimes take for granted in these great United States of America is the right to vote, to make our voice heard. You may feel your one vote makes no difference. Do you know one of our presidential elections came down to 573 votes? 573!! Isn’t that enough to get you to the polls? You may feel your state is already in the bag for one presidential candidate or another. That may be the case. With our electoral college the majority does not, in and of itself, elect our president. Even so, vote. The popular vote within your state will decide how those electoral votes are cast. Additionally, your U.S. Congress seats may be up for vote. You may need to vote for your elected officials at the state level. Judges and school board members may be on the ballot. Closer to home may be City and State propositions for which you’ll feel impact as well as your City and County officials. Read the background information on the candidates and propositions and get to the polls!
We talk a lot of politics in our family. At times we talk politics with friends. People often seem to have an opinion at cocktail parties and sporting events, so I’m stunned when some of the more vociferous ones admit to taking a pass on Election Day. Really? You clearly have an opinion – why note make it count? My hubby went so far once to tell a particularly mouthy non-voter that he didn’t want to hear from someone who didn’t exercise his polling place privilege. Just like your mom telling you as a child to eat all your dinner because there were starving children who didn’t have dinner that night, I’m urging you to vote because men and women died to give us that right. Men and women are dying to achieve that right in other countries around the globe. They would love to have the opportunity to show up freely at their polling place and put their vote on record.
When our daughters were young we’d take them with us on Election Day, bringing them right into the booth with us. We’d talk about what we were doing, why we were voting the way we were and why the process was so important. We even took a couple of their friends to register. I was so proud when my girls voted in their first presidential elections. One of them waited several hours in line in the last presidential contest. They truly understand the importance of the privilege.
You still may not think your vote matters. You may not think your church donation can do much either. You know what? Both matter, if for no other reason than because you participated in the process. What if your donation represented the last amount necessary to help a family in need? What if your vote was the tie-breaker? It could happen. November 8 is the big day. Won’t you please make your voice heard?
