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“Aren’t you going to vote?” I asked a friend at the gym who was looking askance at a conversation a few of us were having about when we were going to get to our respective polling places that day, a busy Tuesday for all of us.
“No,” he said. “Politics has gotten so rotten and nasty, why bother? I can’t stand these guys.”
I certainly agree that the 24-hour news cycle can turn an election into a circus but still I find going to my polling place and exercising the right to vote, a right that so many have fought and died for, incredibly inspiring. Whatever the outcome, I think Election Day is one of the most inspiring days of the year. And filled with wonderful little inspiring stories.
Later, for instance, at my polling place I was greeted by an elderly poll worker who I have seen there for years checking off my name on the voter rolls. This year it was clear she was struggling and my guess is she’s developed Parkinson’s. It was almost painful to see her thumb her way through reams of registration forms looking for mine.
“Take your time, dear,” I said.
“Oh, I surely am!” she laughed.
It slowed the line down a bit but not even New Yorkers dared complain.
Retrieving my voting card I spotted Charlie, a retired Greyhound bus manager who lives in my building, manning the voting stations and answering any questions about the process. I pointed to his never-doffed Yankees cap and said, “Don’t they make you take that off in here? You’re supposed to be non-partisan.”
“Why? The Yankees ain’t running for anything and even if they did I don’t think they’d get a lot of votes considering how badly they played in the postseason.” He made a sour face and waved his hand in mock disgust.
I see Charlie every morning rain or shine at 5 a.m. in his inseparable cap standing at the gates of St. John’s waiting to be let in so he can help the priests get set up for early mass. There is a comfortable symmetry between Charlie’s volunteer duties at the polling place and his volunteer duties at church.
I filled out my ballot and fed it into the scanner under Charlie’s eye then started walking home a couple blocks away. It had been a very long hard day and I suppose I could have blown off voting too. But voting had made a difficult day good. It had made this day an inspiring one.
So did YOU vote? Don’t tell for whom. I just want to know how voting makes you feel.
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Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Guideposts Publications. Edward lives in New York City with two blondes—his wife, Julee, and Golden Retriever, Millie, who has been featured in his blog and popular videos. Edward loves cycling, hiking with Millie at his house in the Berkshire Hills and Wolverines that hail from Michigan.
Your Comments
I always vote, no matter how "small" the election. I think of countries where no one gets to vote, and I'm grateful for the right to vote. I also consider it a duty. The first time I ever voted, I wore my school uniform, and someone commented, "She doesn't look old enough to vote," while I was in the booth. I stepped out and said, "I am SO old enough to vote!" I was so excited to have attained that magic age of 18. Now I work in a school in a predominantly African-American precinct in the South. We had a constant stream of voters all day. People were going out in cars to pick up voters without their own transportation. It was inspiring. One man said that he was going home to change before putting on his "I voted" sticker.
Thanks for writing about the importance of participating in our U.S. voting process. We have an orderly and smooth transition of power, almost every time.
My 97-year-old grandmother tells the story of women's suffrage and walking beside her mother to town to vote for the very first time. I never vote without thinking of Hester Clark, and I never fail to exercise that hard-won privilege.
I felt a sense of pride as I walked through the door of my polling place. Even if my candidates lost, I still expressed my opinions and participated in a wonderful freedom that some countries are still desperately trying to achieve. Besides, now I have the right to complain if need be!
I would only miss voting due to illness, etc., but I always early vote, just down the street.
Voting reminds me of those who died to make this country free and of the many individuals around the world who are oppressed, have no voice regarding their government or any choice of religion.
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