Our Civic Duty

Happy Super Tuesday. I imagine everybody voted today, and I hope you all had positive experiences. I was lucky enough to go mid-morning and avoid any crowds. Our polling place is just one street over, on 7th Avenue, so I bundled Ethan up and pushed him in the stroller to the school. On the way in, a cute old lady informed me that if you do not vote for the presidential delegates, your vote for president does not count. She said no one tells you that. I didn't know what she was talking about until I actually voted and saw the page with the delegates. If what she said was accurate, I'm sure glad she told me.

Since I was at the polling place at 10:30 AM, I was the youngest (besides Ethan) of anyone there by about 75 years. Of course, this means that everyone was just gushing over the helmeted little guy. I was a bit worried that some people might not be so thrilled with him once they saw the Obama sticker displayed on the side of his helmet, but I have a feeling cataracts and, in general, poor eyesight saved us on that front. No one seemed to notice except the one young woman in the place who took my name. She was amused.

I opted to do my voting with the touchscreens, and an adorable old man volunteer explained how to use it, which made him even more adorable because it was clearly something I - as a 27 year old who grew up with abundant computer technology - could figure out, and he clearly had only just learned how to work with the machine mere hours beforehand. I patiently listened to his speech and then was on my way. Ethan looked over my shoulder from his stroller and took it all in, pacifier breathing in and out in deep thought.

When we were through, I walked over to the adorable old man who gave me a sticker and then said, "Wait a minute" while he peeled another one off and plopped it right on Ethan's helmet. This gesture made him all the more fantastic to me. The other voluteers were laughing as we left the room, obviously in good spirits to see the young voter. It brings new meaning to the phrase "vote early," I guess.

I feel so excited about this election first because, no matter what the outcome, it will end with a Bush-less administration and, number two, it is such a historically important election with both an African American and female candidate. I cannot help thinking that if this election is occurring when I am only 27 years old, the future of our country and its treatment of minority populations and women can only improve. It will be exciting to see what other cultural and historical milestones I will witness in my lifetime. But at times I also feel a bit anxious about the election, wondering what kinds of ridiculous sexist or racist events might occur before, or even after, the election. To put it simply, I just hope everybody plays fair.

Now, I guess it's just a waiting game. Good luck to everyone, and may the best man, or woman, win!