
My daughter voted Saturday for the first time. And like watching your child take her or his first steps, singing in a school play, scoring a goal in soccer, and graduating from high school, it was one of those moments I won’t soon forget. I spent my Saturday driving to her college campus to pick her up (she neglected to get an absentee ballot), drive her back to Irvine, head over to City Hall to vote and then drive back to school and then back to OC. It was a full tank of gas but worth it for few reasons. Voting was important to her. I was not going to let her busy class schedule and inability to secure an absentee ballot stop her from casting her first vote.
- She didn’t ask for any help with her ballot. She took the time to research each candidate on the ballot regardless of party. She went with candidates who best articulated their position on issues that mattered most to her. She took voting seriously.
- She was surprised to learn that not all candidates can afford or choose not to use a candidate’s statement; I pointed this out and she went back to the list to look up other candidates for office who lacked a statement and made some adjustments. She also learned that she didn’t have to vote for anyone in one particular race if she didn’t like the choices
- She was not swayed by endorsements, the amount of money raised, or press coverage. She sought clear information on where candidate’s stood on issues. That was her criteria.
If you haven’t voted yet, take some time and look over the candidates and the ballot questions. And make good choices.