Voting is a right, because the U.S. Constitution says so, and since 1920, I have that right as a woman. But I also think voting is a privilege. There are many people, in other countries, especially women, who can't vote. They either don't have the right, or the leaders of their countries make it so difficult for citizens to vote that people don't even try. So, when I go to the polls on Election Day and cast my ballot, I also do it with those people in mind. And I realize that it IS a privilege. We are extraordinarily lucky to live in the U.S.
I also think about my grandmothers on Election Day. My Grandma Bickerdike was a suffragette in England, and she rallied for women to have the right to vote. My Grandma Hayes came of age when women were fighting for the right to vote in the U.S., and she was 17 the year women won their fight. She just had to wait 4 years to exercise her right. In all the years I knew her, she always voted.
So today I am thankful that I CAN vote. That I can cast my ballot and have my choice counted. It matters.
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