Monday, October 20, 2008

I voted today

I love the fact that we have early voting. I have to work on November 4th and I don't want to worry that I may not get to my polling place in time to cast my ballot.

There was a time in my life that I would not have even considered voting early. There was something so exciting about voting on election day and being a part of the whole voting process. I remember spending hours in line the first time I went to vote and feeling so excited about being able to really say something that mattered. I have always believed that to be able to argue politics you must first be willing to vote, otherwise you don't have a voice as far as I am concerned.

So today, on the first day of early voting, I went to cast my ballot. I was surprised that the line was long just to get into the parking lot and when I got inside the poll worker told me that the line wrapped around the building by the time the doors opened at 8AM! I only waited for about 10 minutes but there was a steady stream of folks lining up for their turn.

This election matters. But will my vote matter in the long run here in North Texas? I hear that question allot around here. YES it does count. We may not think it does in the Presidential election, but it matters, and in the local and state elections it matters allot.

I did my homework and really reserched the candidates before making my choices. I have engaged my boys in discussions and let them know what is at stake. I worked very hard to stay objective when talking with my boys, despite the fact that I have very definite opinions, and have definite choices. I think that my boys do understand that this is the most important thing that we as Americans do for our country and ourselves. They are listening and paying attention and looking at the issues.

So I voted today and now I will wait until November 4th to find out if my candidates win. My vote does count.