Young, Old, and Middle Class Show Up to Vote in New York

Niagara Falls, New York -- This city lies in the western part of the typically "blue" state of New York. It is a city that has seen change over the past thirty years, though not all the change has been good. The population has decreased as many of my fellow Gen-Xers have moved to more prosperous areas of the country. This year, enthusiasm for a new kind of change was evident in the air, as record number of voters made their way to the voting booths across Niagara County.

My voting experience turned out to be a summary, a conclusion of sorts, to all the thinking and hoping that many, like me, had been processing over the past election season. The disappointment with the Bush years is one reason that many local citizens went to vote this year. Others, confused or disenchanted with both candidates mentioned apathy about who wins. The emotions of most voters I encountered, nonetheless ran high.

In Niagara Falls, you can see the signs of a weakened economy. Many 30 somethings, like myself, no longer share the same type of middle class status that our parents did. The middle class voters here are a blending of working and middle class voters, many who could easily slip with the layoff at a local plant or uninsured health insurance bills. This was the face of voters when I went to vote.

The brightest light of hope came from the students in Niagara Falls, the young, the first time voters, and the teens who are waiting patiently for their chance to have a say in future elections. My nephew, informed as much as any news pundit about the election, convinced his mother who the best choice would be. He did it by presenting informed points of debate, showing that the youth in this area are not only interested in being informed, but they are enthusiastic and hopeful. Many high school and middle school students in the area were able to attend mock debates as part of their history/civics classes.

Seniors manned the polls at my local church. When I arrived to vote at 11:30 am, I was greeted by a bake sale and at least twenty senior volunteers. My voting location is a small neighborhood church with one old-fashioned NY style voting machine. The outdated levers and pull curtain throw one back a few decades. Luckily, most NY voters are used to the traditional, but antiquated voting booths. Voter after voter arrived all day to vote at the little church at the corner of my street. I was number 284 when I voted. The volunteer looked at me with a smile and told me that I, "had the lucky number." Indeed I must have, because when I woke up this morning all the hope that many voters had been looking for had been realized.

Unlike many voters around the country, I did not have to wait in lines for hours. I simply walked over to a little church manned by an active group of seniors and cast my vote. It took all of 30 seconds to change the direction of my country, to make my vote count, and to join the thousands of other local voters who insist on casting their vote. It was a different election this year. More voters than ever showed up to vote, more teens and young voters were speaking up, and the fluctuating middle/working class voters in Western New York decided apathy was no longer an option.