Exercising the Right

I just sent in my absentee ballot. I have to say, voting from my dining room table was a much better experience than the usual elementary school cafeteria voting experience. And I would not have had the opportunity to vote by absentee ballot for Texas if the Louisiana DMV wasn't making it so difficult for me to get a new driver's license, so I guess there's a silver lining to everything.



I didn't get to vote in the 2004 presidential election. I went to court for a docket call first thing in the morning with little more than a legal pad and a pen, and because plaintiff's counsel reneged on an informal but long-standing settlement agreement, I ended up having to pick a jury and help the partner start a trial. So, I never made it to the polls that day because I didn't go home from office until it was "tomorrow." Not that my vote would have made a difference in Texas, but I was miffed that I didn't get to participate in the process. This time, I would not be deterred. And once I sat down to vote in my robe and slippers, I realized how uninformed I was about many of the choices. It's so easy to get caught up in the presidential horse race and ignore the other elections, but they say that all politics is local so I'm kind of disappointed in myself for not becoming more informed and for wasting too much time on the candidates who will directly impact me the least.



I won't say who I chose for president, but I will say that my ballot choices included democrats and republicans and at least one libertarian (simply because he was the only individual running against my incumbent US Congressman who I dislike immensely). I also voted for a candidate for sheriff named Lupe simply because I have a friend named Lupe who I adore and I liked the idea of having a sheriff who is a woman. I also voted for a couple of people because I had heard of them before -- that was their only qualification. Then there are those political positions on the ballot that I've never heard of and I have no idea what they do -- like Public Safety Comptroller Commissioner (I made that up), so those choices were basically a coin toss. I wasn't sure what would be worse: to not vote for a position or to make a totally arbitrary decision. So, I chose the latter. Scary, right? I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that my undergraduate degree is in political science.



I didn't feel bad at first. But having had several days to think about it, I kind of feel like I've let down my early 20th century sisters (and contemporary women who live in oppressive patriarchal societies) by taking my voting rights for granted and failing to be a more active participant in educating myself about the candidates before taking pen to ballot. So I've decided that next time, I'm going to be fully prepared for voting. I'm going to appreciate this right that many people in contemporary cultures around the world still don't have. I'm going to start by finding out what a Public Safety Comptroller Commissioner is. So my apologies to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth -- next time I won't let you down!