I went to vote Tuesday in Cordova and it was a quiet and pleasant experience.
I walked in with my mask on and was immediately directed to a woman seated with her mask on and gave her my license. I checked to see if my address was correct her system, told her whether I would be voting on the democratic ballot or republican one and signed her form. She then sent me to another table to write and sign my name. That person had a mask on as well and handed me a card to put in the voting machine. She asked if I wanted to use my hand or their plastic bag and wooden stylus to vote. I took both and cast my ballot.
Once I was done, I went to another table where a woman with a mask directed me to lay my card used in the voting machine and I dropped the plastic sleeve and wooden stylus in the trash and left.
It was a quick, easy and very safe process. I felt more comfortable going to vote rather than sending in my ballot. I didn’t even have to wait in line.
I did not want to miss an opportunity to partake in this election. I hate missing elections. It is the one thing that makes me feel like I have some power in or over what happens in Memphis, Shelby County and this County. I honestly feel proud to say that I voted for Floyd Bonner. The first African American Sherif of Shelby County and a good man, might I add.
I think that because voting was so important to my mother that it has become important to me. I want my children to feel just as proud to exercise their right to vote as I do. Watching my mother go to the polls and vote, then come home to watch TV to see who won, was a pretty proud moment for me as a child. And hearing the sacrifices of others made me know that it was a must for me, a must that I take part in the process of electing the first black President, Barak Obama. What a great day.
I don’t believe in judging people for who they vote for but I do however, believe that we have a right to keep the people we voted for accountable for their actions or lack thereof, whether we voted for them or not.
Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and others for your amazing hard work to pave a way for me.
Thank you Congressman John Lewis for these words. May we never forget them.
"In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring."
"I have said this before, and I will say it again," Lewis said in June 2019. "The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy."
Happy voting!