Why You Should Vote Today

By Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start Association

Ever since I became a U.S. citizen, elections have always filled me with a sense of hope — probably because they represent a stark contrast to my childhood.

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, my parents explained that there was only one party to vote for, but they were forced to show up at the polling place and cast a meaningless vote anyway. You can imagine how irrational such an explanation used to sound to my young mind…

In contrast, we have American democracy — an experiment began 235 years ago that many thought was impossible. In the years since its inception, the United States has changed and grown in ways unimaginable to those who first declared their independence. Transformed through a civil war, the fight for women’s rights, voting rights, civil rights, a changing media landscape, and an ever-evolving justice system, American democracy has endured.

While not a perfect system, the American way strives to be better; and to be fairer today than it was yesterday. It is this system, after all, that created the Head Start program in 1965 and has continued its commitment to vulnerable children and families ever since.

American history is awash with stories of everyday people, like us, fighting for the right to have their voices heard, and to cast a ballot in a free and fair election.

Today, we cast our votes not only in honor of all those who came before us, but in honor of ourselves, our families, and our communities. One vote can make a difference. One voice can lift up a community. This Election Day, stand up and make sure your voice is counted.

Have you cast your ballot yet? Do you know where your polling place is? Have your friends, family, and coworkers cast their ballots? Make a plan to help others participate. Bring people to the polls with you. Check in with loved ones to make sure they have a way to get to the polls.

And if you’re looking for a classroom activity today, help start the next generation on a pathway to the polls.

And remember, when you pull that lever you are participating in one of the most extraordinary experiments ever conducted. You are a partner in making American democracy work.