While the majority of the United States was at the polls, contributing to their country’s future, I was in my residence hall sulking about not being able to vote.
Yes, I said it. I did not vote. Truthfully, I tried, but did not succeed.
The important reason behind this is that I did not receive my absentee ballot in time. I am a native of Iowa, so I had to send in to request an absentee ballot. I did this over fall break and did not even think that there was the possibility that I would not receive my ballot at school.
However, the unthinkable did happen – I received no ballot. As Election Day neared, I started to wonder where my ballot was, so I called home to ask. My mother then told me that the request form was sent back because it was sent in too late. The deadline had passed.
Now, some students might be able to relate to my story and some may be upset, but please don’t judge me. I did try.
Over the recent weeks before the election, I overheard many discussions concerning voting. One student told her friends that she did not plan to vote because she felt like she did not know enough about the issues.
Another student told her father during a phone conversation that she didn’t know where the local polls were, so she just wasn’t going to vote.
The last conversation I overheard was quite astonishing. A student’s parents actually voted for him. During further questioning, the student was unable to identify the presidential candidates and their running mates.
My day of not voting started out like any other Tuesday. I woke up around 8:45 a.m. for my 9:30 class. As I made the hike across campus to the Humanities building, I spotted a few campaign T-shirts and “I voted” stickers on students. Of course, this did not make me feel great, but I continued with a feeling of optimism about the situation.
As class began, my teacher said, “Well for all of you who might not know or have forgotten, today is Election Day.” After a few laughs, she added, “So go out and vote!” “Great,” I thought.
After class though, things just continued to worsen. As I went back to my dorm, I saw more political advertisements; this time in the form of stickers and vocal reminders to vote.
As I tried to hold my head high, I became upset. By the time I reached my room, I was not in the talking mood. I went straight to my computer, put in my headphones and engaged myself in some sociology reading. This distracted my mind for a while, until I left for my next class about an hour later. “Ok,” I thought. This is ballet, so at least I will be active so I won’t think much about voting. When class ended though, I heard two girls fighting over an Obama sticker, and the troubled feelings returned.
As I entered the classroom for my last class of the day, I could only think about our homework, with great potential for a pop quiz. After the quiz, the teacher lectured and I followed along on PowerPoint. About five minutes into this though, I noticed the other students around me with their computers open and eyes fixed on their Internet pages filled with election polls. Naturally, I did the same, choosing CNN.com for the latest coverage. Class continued and I perked up a little as my pick for the election was ahead in the polls. As class ended, my teacher concluded with “Don’t forget to vote!” By this time though, I was not as bothered by her remark and left class with a small smile on my face.
Even though I didn’t vote, I still believe that voting is extremely important and crucial to the future of our country. It is especially important for young people because our voices need to be heard. I encourage anyone who did not vote to get involved somehow in politics, even if it’s just learning more about our new president-elect.
After all, we will be the ones running our country some day…