Have you voted yet? If so, how have you done it? Have you used a postal vote or have you gone I person? If you went in person, how did you get there? Did you go alone or with some one else? Do you have a ritual?
In my family voting was/is compulsorily. Not to vote would be a sin worse than theft or adultery. If you even mentioned not voting you would be reminded of all those individuals who died to win the right for you to vote.
I have always loved poling day. And not just because it meant a day off from school. My school, like others, was a poling station and thus we had the day off each poling day. I loved it because my parents always made it into an occasion. Firstly, they always took me to the poling station, even before I could vote. I notice that this has become a part of the US ‘get the vote out campaign’ with parents being told to take your kids to vote. The first time that I could vote was made into a celebration and a right of passage.
Secondly, it was made special, we had our rituals. Each voting day, when dad came home from work, we would wash and change. And then we would go out and walk, never drive, to the poling station. On the way to the poling station we passed many gardens and these would be examined, rated and interested plants pointed out and named. In addition, since we lived in a small community in which everybody knew everybody else, we would always meet friends either coming or going to the poling station. We would stop and talk. We children would run around and have fun. Going to vote could take some time.
The next big thing would be watching the count on television. I loved this for two reasons. Firstly, because I could stop up late, and secondly because we had a Chinese take away. I, also, used to like the swingometer. So voting day became a holiday, just like Christmas, or birthdays. It was an occasion. It was enjoyable. Voting was important. Therefore, I always vote, I always walk to the poling station and I always watch the results. It’s as natural as breathing. My parents made it that way.
MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD. VOTE!
