Voting: Not just a right, but a duty
By Russell Roybal, Deputy Executive Director of External Relations, November 4, 3:11 pm
When I was kid, Election Day in our family was always a big deal. My grandparents went to the polls religiously year after year, election after election.
And it just wasn’t the presidential elections that counted, it was every election. My family would gather together after work, usually around 5 or 6 o’clock, then walk the few blocks to our polling location in the cafeteria of my elementary school.
On the way the banter between my grandparents, my mom and her siblings typically consisted of what they did at work that day or any new chisme (gossip) about co-workers, neighbors, etc. The conversation was in Spanglish, and was always colorful. They didn’t really talk about who or what they were voting for because that decision had already been made, usually weeks before and through spirited conversation. Although sometimes there was disagreement, they usually all voted the same.
As working-class Catholic Latinos, their politics were shaped by their own experience but always guided by what we knew to be right – that we have to take care of one another, hold our government accountable, and fight for freedom and justice for everyone. My grandparents instilled in all of us the importance of what it meant to vote and be good citizens.
Our civic responsibility was paramount, whether it be voting or serving on a jury, and that we should take it seriously. They reminded us of how so many sacrificed so we could even have the right to vote, and told us stories of how they were often intimidated and harassed while trying to exercise their rights as citizens.
So on Election Day, I hope you cast your ballot. Voting is not only our right as citizens, it is our duty. And there is always too much at stake to not participate.
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