There's a First Time for Everyone

By Gloria E.

Some of the most moving encounters I have had while canvassers are with first-time voters. These interactions recently included several people who just became eligible to vote, through age or citizenship.

Many of them were a bit unsure about voting, so the information we provided was really appreciated. I had a great conversation with a woman who told me she had been in the US for 35 years, but this election will be the first time she’ll be voting - suggesting she never felt a reason to start voting until now.

Today, I heard the most surprising first-time voting story, from a dignified, older woman. She told me she had lost her voting rights because of a felony she committed many years ago when she was young. As soon as she had her voting rights restored, she took her mother and grandmother to vote with her. And she’s been voting ever since.