I performed my civic duty and voted in the 2024 Election. I submitted my ballot by recently dropping it in a mailbox. For those who are curious, Washington has been a “vote by mail” state since 2011. When that law was enacted, I had already been gone from the state for six years. When I did return to Washington in 2020—just in time for that year’s presidential election—it did seem a little strange to vote via mail well before Election Day.

I cast my ballot for the 2024 Presidential Election.

I must say that while I appreciate the conveniences of mail-in voting, actually “going to the polls” on Election Day just hits different. Two past presidential experiences of voting in-person stick out the most…

Dropping off my ballot at the ballot drop box at the Spokane Valley Library in 2020.

This November will mark 20 years since I cast my first ballot. I was a high school senior and had turned 18 just a few weeks prior to Nov. 2, 2004. I went to school that day and followed it up with football practice. After returning home, my mom and I went to the North Spokane County Library to vote. I still remember the room, the voting booths, and making my selections. Even though we were some of the last people in the country to vote and the race between George Bush and John Kerry was already decided, it was exciting!

After we checked in at the voting precinct in 2016, Sid and I were given these little “vote” cards that we eventually would give to the voting official at the front of the line.

A dozen years later, I found myself about 3,000 miles away from that initial polling station standing in line to do the same thing with my pregnant wife. Sidney and I waited for more than two hours inside an elementary school to vote in the infamous 2016 Donald Trump vs. Hilary Clinton election. As South Carolina is the exact opposite as Washington—it is about as red as you can get—we heard a lot of people who were passionate to vote for Trump but not exactly enthusiastic about his chances. We all know how that turned out…

Wearing the stickers to prove it, Sidney and I posed for this selfie outside of Ocean Bay Elementary after casting our ballots during the 2016 Presidential Election.

Although I do miss the excitement and camaraderie that comes with such a public display of democracy, I can appreciate the convenience that exists with mail-in voting. But no matter what option(s) is offered to you, make sure to seize it. The freedom to vote is something we can’t pass up. Don’t Blink.