I was raised in a very politically engaged family. I knew when my parents were going to the polls, I was aware of the issues being debated and voted on, and was encouraged to create my own opinions. Politics are not a foreign idea to me. However, the actual responsibility of voting was a new concept.
When President Obama won his re-election in 2012, I was just a few months shy of turning 18 and was obviously not old enough to vote. So the 2016 presidential election is the first that my peers and I can execute our right to vote! It seemed like the entire state of Utah went to the primary elections. We went in pumped and ready. We each had my candidate in mind and felt ready to make history.
People continue to say that your vote doesn’t matter in our predominantly red state, but this was, and continues to be, different as the days go by. Having heard all of the hype about this particular election made it that much more fun and exciting to be involved in the making of history, regardless if you identify as a Republican or a Democrat.
The experience was all it was cracked up to be, despite my constant political nerdiness, for everyone there. As we drove to our polling location, we realized the intensity of this election. We had to park a mile down the road, and bear the elements while standing in a snowstorm for 3 hours. It was so worth it! When we got inside the process was so easy, you literally just fill out a paper and drop it in a box. It really was so easy, it baffles me when people give the excuse of difficulty for not voting. This time though, it seems everyone and their dog showed up to say they had helped make history.
Whatever the results may be from the Utah Primary Elections, the work isn’t over yet! Volunteer in your community, phone bank for your party, or even wait until the general election rolls around in November and vote–but let’s not lose the momentum that is being built for both sides of political parties.
Good job on making history Utah!!