Tuesday’s Illinois primary elections marked the first time I have voted in my life, and I have to say, I feel pretty damn good about it.
You might have read the column I wrote last month about why I had never voted before. My honesty and reasons behind it struck a few nerves. But I feel the need to say I did not choose to vote this time because of the social media backlash and hate emails I received in the wake of that column. No amount of “bullying” influenced my decision to exercise my right—I had already registered to vote before that column went to print.
So, I voted for my own sake, not anyone else’s.
Because of my job at RedEye and the election coverage we’ve done, I finally felt like I could make informed decisions in this election. Some of the stories I wrote required hours of research, learning about each candidate, what their views are on issues, the demographics of who is voting for them and more. I was also able to study the voting registration process and found ease in completing it.
Last week, I was sent to the (almost) Trump rally, and it was an eye-opener, to say the least. The importance of voter turnout stuck with me after seeing thousands of Trump supporters and protesters show up to the rally.
The presidential race could very well take a turn because of the events that transpired that night. I think witnessing the immense passion people have for or against this year’s candidates is enough to make a non-voter want to vote, or at least it’s enough to want to have an opinion and feel that same passion.
Covering the Trump rally made it clear that my vote can count for something. Having apathy toward the political process but expecting things to change isn’t going to cut it for me anymore.
I’ve realized which issues are important to me and which will affect me the most in the future. I’ve put thought into the things I’d like to see change when a new president takes office.
As for my actual experience voting for the first time, it went well-ish.
I’m pretty sure anyone at my polling precinct could tell I was a newbie. If incorrectly filling out the ballot didn’t give me away, asking the guy in charge if I could take my messed-up ballot into the booth with me as a reference for my new ballot certainly did.
Regardless of those hiccups, I’ve got an election under my belt, baby.
*Also, I’m pretty sure my ballot receipt selfie got more likes on social media than all my other selfies combined. #VoterPride
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