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What Voting Means to Americans

By Rachel Waldman

Voting is so important because if we didn't have voting we would have no say in the government. If we had no say in the government, we might not be as free as we are today. But some might say "Why Vote? Why take the time to go and vote for some political candidate when my vote probably won't even matter?" But as we learned two year ago (Florida), every vote counts. One vote could decide the difference between a candidate winning and a candidate losing.

Voting is like the blood of our country. Without voting, the fundamentals our country is based upon - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - would be destroyed and no longer exist. Without voting we would be like communist countries and dictatorships. We were the first country to bring up this idea of the people selecting their leaders.

I think it is important for children to learn the meaning of voting at a young age. My experience in learning the importance of voting occurred because I always went with my mother to vote. The thing that was most memorable for me was when I was so little I couldn't even see into the voting booth, and I would stand on my toes to try to see what she was doing. As I got older, my mother would put the puncher into the hole of the candidate she wanted to vote for and have me press down. I felt interested in what was going to happen to that ballot that I was pressing into, and that is when I learned the importance of voting. (Now I can see into the voting booth.)

Name: Rachel Waldman
School/Grade: Beth Yeshurun Day School, Grade 5

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