Tomorrow is the day of the midterm elections in the United States. Reports say that early voting rates have doubled in some states and the percentage that vote in this election may be higher than ever before.
The youth vote, inspired in part by survivors of the Parkland high school shooting massacre, has increased exponentially. In Texas and Georgia early voting by those under 30 years old has increased by 400 per cent.
There are so many inspirational stories in this election as well. Andrew Gillum would be Florida’s first black governor if he is elected. Stacey Abrams would be the first black female governor in the United States if she is elected. Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez would be the youngest woman elected to Congress if she wins. And if Beto O’Rourke wins the Texas Senate seat, he will be the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994 and he doesn’t accept financial contributions from political action committees (PACs).
There have been a lot of ‘us and them’ stories in the news lately. About immigrants being separated from their children, students being gunned down at school, and people being killed because of the colour of their skin, the religion they practice or their gender.
I hope that everyone who is eligible to cast a ballot in tomorrow’s election does so. I hope that the change people are looking for happens. And I hope that leaders can help bring people together rather than tear them apart.
As author Roald Dahl said, “Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.”
May it be changed for the better. Vote.