I voted on Saturday. With two small children in tow, a bit late in the early voting game, in a busy part of town and on a Saturday, the time it took would fit within a sitcom episode. It was well-organized, quiet and easy. I presented my driver’s license and was asked to verbally confirm my name and address. The biggest issue I had was that my “magic” pen (as my 5-year-old called it) had a dry spot when held at a particular angle. All three of us took a picture outside wearing our “I Voted” stickers. The kids were excited to be there and I explained what the various offices meant for our day-to-day lives and why I voted for or against the bond or amendment questions. I also explained you can leave bubbles blank, choosing not to select, for example, a candidate who is running unopposed, what a write-in candidate is and how to properly fill that out.
Our country, our state and our communities deserve the 30 minutes it takes for us to exercise our right to vote. But that’s only half of it: All told, it took another thirty minutes before Saturday to download a copy of my sample ballot to research the candidates and questions on the ballot. You can make your very own cheat sheet! This, too, is your responsibility as a citizen in this community. Do your homework. Be educated, get engaged. Visit NMvote.org to download your own sample ballot.
Additionally, you can check your voter registration information on the same online portal. I’ve heard of some folks having their registrations inexplicably missing, so it doesn’t hurt to check yours. It appeared same-day registration was also available at the polling location, so that’s always an option, too.
Finally, don’t make assumptions. I talked to a family member who assumed ranked-choice voting applied to all office elections and were frustrated by that form of voting. Ranked-choice voting only applies to city of Las Cruces elected offices, for which there are none this election cycle, but that is an easy mistake to make and one that may keep some folks away from the polls.
I hope that this article inspires even one more person to vote that wasn’t planning on voting. That would honor me greatly. But I hope the experience is something my children will remember and will inspire them to participate when the time comes. My nine-year-old proudly exclaimed that it was only nine more years until he could vote. I’ll take that as a win. Consider taking your kids to the polls and have that same experience with them. If enough of us do that, our democracy might just live forever, regardless of the outcomes of this or future elections.
