Sara Sandstrom, Peak to Peak. Do you remember the first time you voted? I do. I was 18 and had to take the extra steps to register in Minnesota where I was in my freshman year of college. November 3, 1992, was a freezing cold Minnesota day and I had to walk from my college, Concordia, St. Paul, over Interstate 94 to the Skyline Tower, a high-rise apartment complex in the Midway area. I was proud to cast my first vote. 

My parents always voted and emphasized that voting was my right and a way to actively participate in our democracy. They taught me that it is an honor and my duty to vote in all elections. So passionate did they teach this that even when I did not live in the United States, I made sure I had an absentee ballot. Nothing should stop anyone from voting. 

I am very well aware that people had to fight for my right to vote. Women marched, went on hunger strikes, voted illegally, were arrested, fined, endured beatings all for the sake of women voting. All for the right for white women to vote which passed in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. 

Black men were allowed to vote in 1869 with the passing of the 15th Amendment. However, a few years later Jim Crow laws involving a tax to vote or even the threat of death prevented Blacks from voting. This would continue until 1964 with the passing of the 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. 

Native Americans were not even given full rights as citizens until 1924. Native Americans had to fight state by state to have the right to vote. The last state to guarantee voting rights to Natives was Utah in 1962. 

Why is it so hard for some people to allow others to have the right to vote in this country? This country that declares justice for all. I know the answer to the question. I just have a really hard time understanding why I even have to ask the question. 

We brag about how voting is an American right. Yet, obstacles and barriers to vote still very much exist in many areas, in many states and for many people. 

I would love to see every American citizen cast their ballot with a smile that shows pride and honor. I would love to see every citizen feel that sense of power and value. 

Voting is an honor and a right of all citizens in the United States. I want everyone to feel that sense of dignity and know they have a voice in our country by voting. 

(Photos by Kirk C. Watkins. Originally published in the November 12, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)