The Right and Privilege

By the time this is actually posted we will know who is the next president of the United States. But I’m writing this on Tuesday, Election Day, so I do not know how my vote counted. The key thing is that it does count. I am reminded of that in several ways today.

First, my daughter has voted for the first time in a Presidential Election. She used an absentee ballot because she is away at college, but it was very important to her to exercise her right to vote. I’m glad she feels that responsibility. It’s a sign she appreciates her country, even though she also has many complaints about the way some things are. She’s taking the responsibility to do what she can to make things go better in her view.

Second, a friend of mine is voting for the first time in a Presidential Election because she is a new citizen of the United States of America. She’s lived here for several years but has not been eligible to vote until this year. She values that opportunity and was probably as excited as my daughter, and, probably for the same reasons. She’s saying she loves the United States and she’s interested in what happens in our government.

Third, I have friends who have been overseas as missionaries for much of the last 20 years. They may have voted absentee ballots in the past, but today they get to vote in person as they are here in the United States. They, too, have a stake in what happens in this election and want to have their say. They, too, will exercise their right and privilege to vote.

Each vote does matter, and what matters the most is that we don’t take it lightly. I cannot imagine not voting today. I’ve voted in every Presidential Election since I was 18 and all but 2 non-presidential elections since then, too. I voted today. I will watch with great interest for the results tonight. But mostly, I hope people exercise their right and privilege as American citizens and will vote.