VOTE!

Growing up, I loved Election Day. My elementary school was a polling place, which meant that I got the day off from school. My parents would take me with them into the school auditorium where all of the voting machines were lined up down front. 

As much as I loved Election Day, I also loved the old school voting machines used. Each came with a giant red lever that you'd slide to the right to close the curtain behind you and slide again to the left to record your ballot when finished and open the curtain. I can still hear the sound of that lever clanking into place echoing through the Loesche Elementary School auditorium, a sound that I will forever equate with democracy at work.

Here are my two thoughts on this Election Day 2022.

/1/ Employers, check your state's laws. 29 states require employers to grant employees time off to vote (24 paid time off and 5 unpaid). Until Election Day is a federal holiday (which it absolutely should be), let your employees have a reasonable time to vote, whether your state's law requires it or not.

/2/ VOTE! It's the single most important role we citizens play in our democracy. It's our chance to have our voice heard as to who we want representing us. And it legit matters today more than ever. Seriously.