Tuesday, November, 8th, 2016. A day that many select politicians have been waiting for, public citizens have been dreading, and others find emotional. Every eight years the nation is inundated with politics as decisions are made about who the next Commander-in-Chief will be. Each election cycle is not the same and each candidate offers, let's call it, unique ways of campaigning.
Know as election day millions of Americans head to the polls to cast their ballots. Always held on the second Tuesday in November, Election Day is often met with disgruntled opinions. As of late, I have heard a lot about how many employed adults and working college students struggle to find the time to go and vote. It often feels rushed and lines tend to be long often making such a historic voting process viewed as a negative event.
A major supporter of Bernie Sanders I found his stance on Election Day in particular quite interesting to me. What does The Bern want? "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Senator Sanders states in a news bulletin on his website. In many cases, this could be helpful.
As I work on figuring out who I am going to vote for, not just for the position of President of the United States but many local positions, I am thankful for one thing: a day off. For the first time in my voting life (it's only been four years) I will be getting the day off to vote. As a student teaching intern I find this to not only be an incredibly generous thing to do, but also a day I look forward to.
So, what do I plan to do on November 8th? Vote of course, but also be actively following the results as they come in. As Americans, I have found that we often treat our democracy as a second thought. Even further there are individuals who proclaim they plan on not voting.
These declarations stop me in my tracks. While many steps are put in place- namely the Electoral College system- having the ability no matter the color of our skin or the gender we identify as we get to vote. This thought became more prevalent when a rather crude Twitter hashtag began trending a few weeks ago.
All this is to say as a Millennial, female citizen I find it imperative to vote and on this day off I find it important to remember the value of voting in America. How women fought, resiliently and endlessly, to secure the right to vote. I will not squander that by shrugging it off and neither should you.
