Bringing Your Child with You to Vote

When I made my initial plan for voting early, I decided to head to the polls one day after work. The early voting place is literally between my work and my home (which are already only 2 miles apart!). However, I started thinking about the concept of bringing your child with you to vote and how important it is. That’s when I decided to change my plan!

Matt and Henry headed out to the Circuit of the Americas for a community bike ride. I took Tate to the polls. He’s 7 now, and I haven’t taken him with me since he was much younger. Voting intrigued him! He loved seeing all of the signs outside the polling area. It was also fun to get a “finger condom” and a “Future Voter” sticker. (He literally wore the sticker to school the next day, which was adorable.). He loved helping me press the buttons on the machine (he was the one who selected Biden and Harris!), and he fed my printed ballot into the vote counter at the end.

The whole time, we chatted about how important voting is and why we should always make time for it, even when we are busy. Afterwards, we headed to the cookie store to get a treat, so the conversation continued!

As a 7 year-old, Tate is at such an impressionable age. He’s actively looking to me for guidance about how to be a good person in the world. It felt so sweet to have the opportunity to vote together. I’m so glad I deviated from my original plan! Tate kept calling it a “play date,” which warmed my heart so much.

Here’s to hoping that Election Day in the United States brings us one step closer to a government that more actively takes care of people!