Vote Early, Vote Often

I love election day.

Even if it is just a primary with a bunch of milquetoast candidates and one ballot initiative that appears to be paid for by Xcel Energy. I still love it.

The fun race to watch today is in Connecticut, between Republican-wannabe Joe Lieberman and challenger Ned Lamont, whose name always makes me think of some hunky 1940s actor. There's been a huge grassroots effort to unseat Lieberman and with any luck, success will be theirs. However this one plays out today, should set the stage for November for sure, and possibly even for the '08 election.

The first time I ever voted was in the gym of Westview Elementary school where I proudly cast my ballot for Richard M. Nixon. I was in second grade, and that is the last time in my life I've voted for a Republican that high up on the ticket. And I do wear that particular one as a badge of honor.

My first real election was Bush (the First) v. Dukakis. While it was a bit of a letdown to actually vote for Walter Mondale, knowing that Reagan was out of office made it all worthwhile. And since then, I've never missed a single national election and only one state election. I love voting.

And what's more, voting is important. Not only is it a right we have but a responsibility. Democracy is reliant on the participation of the people to make it work. It is critical that we exercise our vote, and also elect those we wish to represent us in the various levels of our government. Really, it sounds simplistic, but if we don't vote, we have no one to blame but ourselves. And if you do exercise your right to vote, and you're unhappy with what we get, let your representatives know. The power of the people really is a beautiful thing as I think (and hope) we'll see today in Connecticut.

And as a woman, it's even more important. In these United States, women were only granted the right to vote in 1919, just before the 1920 election. And in an interesting little piece of women's suffrage history, Colorado was the second state in the nation (behind Wyoming, interestingly enough) to grant women the right to vote in 1893. A lot of women fought long and hard, risking so much for us to have this right, so partly because of them, I never, ever take the responsibility lightly (even though Nigel has tried to buy me off a time or two...)

People die around the world for the right to vote. If people are willing to die for this precious right, why aren't we more willing as a nation to engage, learn, read, listen, question, and most importantly, get out of our cars, walk into the polling station, and vote? It's something I'll never understand and if you don't vote, honestly, your political opinion just doesn't matter to me. It's only hot air. Put it into action and pull the lever, then we can talk.

I do miss pulling that lever--I've been voting by mail the last several years. With a complex work and travel schedule, I never know where I'll be when. Plus, I got really tired of the sweet elderly women and men who volunteer to be poll workers always commenting that I look too young to vote. Yeah, I know.

I miss pulling the lever, and until this election, I missed receiving my little "I Voted" sticker. Silly, but those things are cool. This year, however, the State of Colorado included them in our mail-in ballots, so I will wear mine today. I voted. Democracy rocks.