My Experience Voting As A First Time Voter in Wisconsin

One thing I have been looking forward to doing since the day I turned eighteen was being able to vote. And this past week, I finally got the chance to cast my first ballot. 

Every election day since I was in elementary school, my mom has taken my siblings and I to the polls to help set the precedent that voting in every election is incredibly important. I was constantly reminded at home that voting was part of my “civic duty” as a citizen, and I was so excited to finally take part in that. 

Although I voted in Wisconsin, I am originally from West Hartford, Connecticut, where elections are never exactly a nail-biter. As I once wisely said on twitter in reference to the 2020 election cycle, “watching the election from Connecticut is like waiting for your grade on a group project. We know we did our part, we just gotta see if everyone else did theirs.” This was generally the energy I felt around my town every election cycle. Although many of my friends, my family’s friends and much of my immediate community was very politically active, there was an overwhelming sense of security. I could drive around my town and I would constantly see signs for political candidates that would put a smile on my face. It was easy to take the predictable election outcome for granted because we were surrounded by like-minded neighbors. You could even say we got complacent. 

The notion of taking election outcomes for granted could not have been more apparent than with the 2016 election cycle. One stat from the 2016 election cycle that genuinely keeps me up at night is that only about 55% of voting age citizens actually cast their vote, meaning that the election had the lowest voter turnout in nearly two decades (Wallace, 2016). Growing up in the post-2016 election era I truly understand what it means to be let down by those who had voting power and chose not to use it. I unfortunately heard the same story from countless smart, everyday American adults who for whatever reason simply didn’t feel compelled to vote in 2016. Therefore, as a result of this, I feel that my generation has felt extremely compelled to make our voices heard at the polls and we are already seeing the data to prove this. 

The energy leading up to the election in Wisconsin could not have made me more excited to have the privilege of casting my first vote. Wisconsin is a place where elections are tight and every vote counts, so it would make total sense for political parties and other political organizations to put lots of resources towards getting people motivated to get out and vote. As early as when I moved in during August there were individuals stationed everyday on main streets and in front of both student unions making sure people were registered and had a plan to vote. I was even able to obtain three “hot girls vote” stickers after promising that I had a plan that I would execute to vote. 

 Seeing how much America as a nation was closely watching the election in Wisconsin, I felt like I had so much power casting my vote, and I hope all voters are all to feel that power for themselves. 

Source: Wallace, G. (2016, November 30). Voter turnout at 20-year low in 2016 | CNN politics. CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016

• politics
• voting
• wisconsin