By Sydney Cullier
My vote matters.
It’s a simple sentence reflecting a profound ideology, but until you have the privilege of physically staring down a ballot at a voting machine, you may not grasp the power you feel when you cast your first vote.
Unfortunately, due to my age, I was unable to participate in the 2020 presidential election. In Texas, you must be 18 years old to register to vote, and my birthday fell two weeks after the registration deadline. I felt powerless knowing that had I been born two weeks earlier, I could have played a role in one of the most significant elections in our nation’s history. Four years later, I made it my mission to get to the polls.
Although my primary residence is in Texas, I attend Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Balancing work, school and extracurricular activities made it difficult for me to apply for an absentee ballot. With fall break approaching, I knew it was the perfect time to return home to Houston and vote.
On Oct. 25, I woke up at 8 a.m. in my childhood bed. After getting ready for the day, I searched online for the nearest early voting site. Fortunately, it was less than two minutes away at a hotel right down the street. As I approached the hotel, I noticed the streets adorned with campaign posters stretching to the next intersection. I parked my car and walked into the hotel lobby, where I was directed to make a left and continue down the hallway to a small conference room.
Once I entered, a poll worker greeted me and asked to see my identification. After I handed my driver’s license over for verification, I took a moment to absorb my surroundings. The room reminded me of when my mother took me to polling sites during my elementary and middle school years. The machines looked familiar — tall and gray, with barriers to protect voter privacy.
The poll worker returned my license and directed me to a machine behind her. At that moment, I realized I was about to exercise my right to vote under the 19th Amendment for the first time.
I nervously navigated through the screens to make my selections, but as the process continued, my nerves transformed into a sense of empowerment upon realizing I was contributing to one of the most important elections of my lifetime. Thoughts raced through my mind, from wow, I am doing this to the sobering recognition that my ancestors were terrorized and almost killed over this very action. A whirlwind of emotions washed over me, and when my ballot was printed, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride.
The entire process, from getting out of my car to submitting my ballot, took only five minutes. Yet despite its brevity, it was a moment I will never forget. My vote matters, and as the election approaches, I will continue to advocate for the right to use the 19th Amendment and participate in shaping history.