By Gia Reno
Valley Voices staff writer
Teens, here's a question: how many of you completed your constitutional duty and voted in the election on November 2nd? No, it wasn't a presidential election but it was an important election for governor and third congressional district representative.
I know what you're thinking, "What's a third congressional district representative?" Just think Zach Wamp and you'll get an idea.
On Nov. 2, I got the chance to vote for the first time. What seemed scary, complicated and tedious actually ended up being an easy, step-by-step process.
Upon arriving at my polling facility, I was immediately greeted with smiling supporters holding signs and waving, trying to persuade undecided voters, and the building was plastered with signs directing voters to the polls.
Contrary to my preconceived notions on what the voting poll would look like on voting day, the room was not bustling with people. It took a full five minutes to go through all the lines and finally receive my first ballot. One warning to those who haven't voted yet, be prepared to sign your name ... a lot.
After receiving my ballot and sitting down at one of the booths, it was time to vote. If you have ever gone in to vote for the first time, you have probably had someone ask you if you knew who was on the ballot. I was prepared and knew exactly who I was going to vote for, but I was not prepared for the fifteen names listed under the section for governor for Tennessee. I was also not ready for the two amendments that were presented on the ballot in confusing, legal jargon.
My experience was completed when my ballot swiped into a machine and I walked out of the polling place, an official voting citizen of the United States.
Many of you may ask what the point is in voting in a midterm election instead of a presidential one. Before the election, I asked myself the same question, but upon speaking with the head of the Social Studies department at Boyd-Buchanan School, Renee Hood, I soon learned its significance.
"This election is, I feel, the most important election because unlike the president, the people voted for in midterm elections will truly represent you," she said.
Imagine the pressure of voting for someone that would represent you more directly than the president. I was definitely feeling the pressure on November 2nd. After speaking with Hood, I felt a little more frightened, but I was a lot more proud of myself for participating.
One other student at Boyd-Buchanan felt the same way I did about voting in the midterm election. Senior Abby Burroughs said she started to feel the excitement about the upcoming election on her 18th birthday, which was a mere five days before the polling date, but was disappointed to learn the deadline to register was on Oct. 4.
That was a major disappointment.
"I was looking forward to voting because it finally let me know that I was old enough to be taken seriously," Abby said. "I am more upset I didn't know more than I am about not being able to vote. They should make (the deadline) more known."
According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, an organization that studies young Americans' civic and political engagement, there was a 15 percent voter turnout for eligible voters under the age of thirty for the 2008 Super Tuesday presidential primaries, a 12 percent increase from the 2000 primaries.
Though I cannot be sure the youth voter turnout was that high for the midterm elections, my first time voting encouraged me to vote in future elections, even other non-presidential ones. So, how about it teens? Next election day, will you vote?
Gia Reno is a student at Boyd-Buchanan School