So…I know I mentioned this before, but I am soooo ultra pumped up to vote this year!! This is my first time voting in a Presidential election . I’m a votin’ newbie! LOL! Seriously though, because this is the first time that MY vote will be counted, I’ve been doing tons of reading, kind of like doing homework on what is important to helping me make my decision: studying up on the issues, and getting to know as much about our candidates as possible. There really is no other way to do it. If you just pick one without knowing why, well, that’s like driving with a blindfold!!
This year’s Presidential races have been so exciting, mostly because of the history-making set of first-time events. Regardless of the outcome this November, there will be a new chapter that needs to be written to history books. We will be ushering in our first ever African American President, or our first female Vice President. You couldn’t even write this as a movie and have it be as fantastic and unbelievable as it has been.
Since this is my first time participating in our Nation’s electoral process, I decided to brush up on some of our political history. I found out some really interesting stuff! And its kind of important when you think about it, because they relate directly to this year’s election! First of all, everyone knows that it’s a right and a privilege to vote. Some people don’t do it, but it really is important. Some countries take voting so seriously that the people have to vote! It’s called compulsory voting. It’s a really weird system. People who are allowed to vote are actually forced to vote. If they don’t cast a ballot they can be punished with fines, or even put in jail! No Thanks!!!
Here in the United States our history went through all kinds of changes to get to where we are today. It used to be that only white men could vote. And not all of them! White men who owned land were the ones who were given the right participate in an election. The system stayed that way until the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the United States Constitution in1870.Historically known as one of the Reconstruction Amendments, the Fifteenth Amendment gave African Americans and other minorities the right to vote. Women? Fuggetaboutit! LOL! Seriously though, that was an even tougher fight. Women had to wait until 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was added, which states that a United States citizen cannot be excluded from the voting process because of gender. Before that time only a handful of states recognized women’s suffrage, and even then, it was still next to impossible to be a woman and allowed to vote in those states. There were all kinds of rules and stipulations; it was like reading blueprints in some states. The Nineteenth Amendment finally gave every female citizen of age the right to vote.
I think those two parts of our history are sooo relevant today because, without those changes to our Constitution, who knows where we’d be today? Now that I spent all this time revisiting my American History, I’m going to spend the rest of the month researching the candidates! This is so much fun! I did manage to put on a patriotic us flag lapel pin and gather up a few miniature American flags for when I go to a few speeches to learn more about the candidates. One thing is for sure that this time of year, and that is I really get to wear my favorite red, white and blue colors!!!
Oh just to nip it in the bud, before any of my nearest and dearest call to ask me who I am voting for, I still haven’t decided; but I’m getting close to making up my mind. I think. You know how girls can be! It’s like that new song by Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold” (which is practically my theme song!) I’m always changing my mind! Hee hee!!!
Lexi
