Blog the vote
I have already posted about how much I love Terry Pratchett's Nation. One of my favorite lines comes at the end of a trial. Daphne, one of the two pov characters, thinks "No one stuck up their hands and there was no voting [...]. I wonder if it was like this in ancient Athens? This is pure democracy. People don't just get a vote; they have a say."
I am lucky to live where people, if they so choose--and oh how I wish more of them would choose--can have their say every March. The ability to stand up in Town Meeting to tell people why you think something is a good or bad idea carries something beyond a yay or nay. It can lead to a discussion, one that results in something new coming out, whether it's a compromise, or a third way no one had previously thought of.
But I also recognize that we can't run a state or a country on direct democracy. That's why I had to smile when I left my local town office this morning, because two people were sitting at tables filling out early ballots, while someone else was approaching the window to ask about one. I am happy that we have early voting, because it meant my aging parents could vote before my father had surgery last week (he's doing fine) and my 19-year-old daughter could cast her first ballot in a presidential election in the same office where her birth certificate resides and where she registered to vote.
However, I'm not casting my ballot early. Tomorrow I'll drive to the elementary school that is our polling place, and I'll fill out my ballot in the gymnasium, probably to the sound of a phys. ed. class in the other half of the gym. I know their activities remind me of why I vote, and I like to think that maybe they will notice all the adults filing in and will think that voting is something you should do when you are old enough to.
I'll also be bringing with me some cans for our local Food Shelf, because as important as my vote is, I have neighbors who need immediate assistance, help that only I and my other neighbors can provide.