No wasted vote

While most of my family already has voted, I will be casting my ballot tomorrow, on Election Day, and I can’t wait.

I love to line up with my neighbors, greet the hopefully busy poll workers, take my assigned number to retrieve my ballot, bring it to the box, grab the pen and, carefully, work my way from national, through state-wide, through local candidates.

I love to watch my face-down ballot get sucked up into the voting machine, and, like a little kid at the dentist office, I enjoy the sticker I get at the end.

I look forward to the enterprising church ladies and their election day bake sale.

I’m not always a fan of modern campaigning and its appalling expense. I could do without the ridiculous robocalls and mudslinging commercials. But, I do love to vote.

I think it’s entirely appropriate and inspiring that, three days after we cast our votes, we honor the men and women who risk their lives to maintain that right for us. In many ways, Election Day serves as the pre-party for Veteran’s Day. I say we whoop it up.

Despite the confounding vagaries of our electoral college, I don’t believe any vote is wasted. I once observed a recount of a local election and I saw each ballot carefully unsealed, examined, and counted. That experience had a profound effect on me.

Ours is not a perfect country, and this election season has highlighted some of our challenges. But we have a powerful tool that gives us a voice in effecting change, in taking steps to achieve our vision of what this great country can be.

It’s called a vote and I’m looking forward to casting mine.