Make Your Voice Count
Diary of an accidental entrepreneur, Mama and once upon a time Yogini.
We voted today. I say ‘we’ because I decided to take my 3.5 year old with me. I had a bit of a fantasy around how interesting he would find it and how special it would be. There was some intial confusion when he thought I was asking him to go ‘boating’ instead of ‘voting ’ and then he started trying to convince me to go boating.
My original plan was to go October 3 and get it over with. The stress of having the US presidential election running simultaneously to NZ’s election has been anxiety producing.
My original plan was to go October 3 and get it over with. The stress of having the US presidential election running simultaneously to NZ’s election has been anxiety producing.
The US is a mess and that extends to this years voting. Hearing about the lack of voting stations, the elderly who traditionally man the polling booths not being able to because of Covid, people in lines for hours or the process being purposefully confusing in an effort to discourage people from voting has been terrible.
It’s also made the process in NZ feel like a much needed breath of fresh air.
My voting history? If I am honest it’s been pretty nonexistent. In the US we have the electoral system and my State is almost always in alignment with me so I very lazily left it to others. In NZ I had never considered voting as a permanent resident.
My voting history? If I am honest it’s been pretty nonexistent. In the US we have the electoral system and my State is almost always in alignment with me so I very lazily left it to others. In NZ I had never considered voting as a permanent resident.
But this year it feels like so much more is at stake. This year it feels empowering and even vital to vote. Instead of feeling helpless and swimming around in the discord I see in the news voting feels like the most important thing I can do right now.
So with all of that empowerment and civic duty running through my veins the actual experience was almost anticlimactic. I looked online for the nearest polling booth, drove about three minutes from my home, followed the well marked signs and arrived to no lines and friendly faces. Instead of high drama the whole thing was easy, straight forward and exceptionally normal.
There was no parade and confetti when we finished or heroic battles to caste my vote but there was a sense of pride and being part of a larger community. The thrill for me is knowing when it’s time for my little guy to caste his vote it will feel entirely normal. And how lucky we are.
May he always know his voice matters.
