UNITED STATES—Well, America it is finally upon us, by the time you read this column you may have already voted or Election Day is officially over, but with that said, I decided in 2024 to share my experience voting in person. I have no problem with absentee ballots or early in-person voting. Some people have to do it because they have jobs, and there are those companies who don’t let their workers off for Election Day. I was simply baffled at how many family members of mine who didn’t have to work on Election Day, me on the other hand had to work both of my jobs.

Yeah, I truly do believe Election Day should be a Federal Holiday where people get off to vote or have an ample time frame they can go vote without being penalized if they are late to work. I did get up early, not because I was anxious, but I wanted to ensure I had ample time to vote. I’m glad I did that. I got to my polling location by 8 a.m., which is maybe a 5 to 10 minute walk from my home at best. I was surprised. It was busy, and I mean busy.

I would love to recall the 2020 election, but I don’t remember it as much, it feels like a fog to be honest. I just remember wearing a mask when I voted and having to wait in a small line outside the polling location before getting my ballot to vote. The year 2016 was just as bad because it felt like no one voted and perhaps 2008 was the most chaotic time I had ever voted. Why? I waited almost four hours to cast my vote, and till this day nothing has come close to a wait as long as that one, but I waited America.

However, for 2024, I didn’t have to wait to get inside the polling location, I had to wait to get my ballot because so many people were voting within an hour of polling opening up in the state. I saw old, young, Black, White, everyone was voting and it made me excited. It is indeed your civic duty to vote, so when you see people voting it just shows people care about letting their voice be heard and they care about what is going on in this country.

Now, something I hadn’t seen before at my polling location was an Election Challenger. I guess it was someone trying to monitor to ensure no fishy business happened at the location. I found it funny because I have voted at this location for years and not once have I ever witnessed an issue, and I don’t expect any to happen. All I’m saying is don’t ever try to intimidate me when it comes to voting.

That is where I draw the line and will unleash holy hell if someone tries to do it. I will pull my cellphone out in a heartbeat, start recording and send to every single news/media outlet I can so they know what is happening at polling locations across the state. Not saying this was the person’s intent, but there had been speculation in the region about people trying to ensure issues at various polling locations.

After about a 20-minute wait, I get my ballot and I go to that booth or cloaked region to cast my ballot. Jeez, this was a ballot. I know a lot more people turn out for a Presidential Election a lot more than local or state elections, but there was so much on this ballot. Yes, the President of the United States is important, but people need to open their eyes to other things like Congress, where the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are up for grabs, you have those who don’t realize that importance. Why? They write and pass legislation. One political party having control of the House of Representatives and Senate is a major deal because it can literally stop the POTUS in their tracks of trying to push any legislation they want.

You might think the POTUS determines all, they don’t. I’m glad I did research on more than just the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, because we had people running for prosecutor in the county I live in, treasurer, various policing districts, our Supreme Court of the state, and the plethora of individuals voting for judges that impact criminals who are locked up and such matters more than you can ever understand.

In the past when I was younger, I would just randomly vote for people in those races instead of doing research. That has since changed, and if I don’t know some of the candidates I just fill in the empty bubble. Why? I don’t want to cast a vote for someone who I don’t know because who benefits from that? You know who benefits from doing that: a random person, and I prefer to not allow that to happen. I could be appointing someone to a position who has nefarious intent and that is not wise.

If you think I’m revealing who I voted for, think again, that is my business. All I can say is that I chose the candidate(s) that best suits me on certain issues that are important to me and the family. Issues like a woman’s right to choose, who has helped my pockets more in the past few years and where I stand on issues pertaining to Medicare, taxes and so much more. It is my right to vote for WHO I PLEASE. NO ONE TELLING ME WHO TO VOTE FOR IS EVER GOING TO CHANGE WHO I VOTE FOR! People tend to cast their ballot for the one who best suits them, not because someone tells them too.

Written By Jason Jones