I have voted every year but one since I was 18 years old, but was never as excited about voting as I was when I contemplated casting my vote this year.  I started out  30 years ago registered as an Independent until Tom Bradley ran for Governor in my home state of California, when I switched to Democrat so I could vote for Mr. Bradley in the closed primary. 

Politics has changed a lot since I cast my first ballot and so have I.  A year ago, after moving to Wisconsin for a job, I was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) more commonly called "Lou Gehrig's Disease” in the US.  ALS is a degenerative neurological disease that leaves those afflicted to deal with muscle weakness and paralysis.  My particular type of ALS affected my speech and leg muscles so I cannot speak without assistance and I rely on a wheelchair to get around. 

My partner and I recently moved to a new apartment in the same little town in Wisconsin, so my partner went to the election center about 10 days ago to make sure our address was updated and my absentee ballot request was processed.  The poll worker updated our address and let my partner vote, then told her my ballot would be mailed.

We checked the mail every day expecting my absentee ballot, until finally we called the city clerk and were told I would have to come in and physically update my address myself before a ballot could be issued.   

I thought for a brief second about not voting this year, because I am new at being disabled, and not very adept at functioning in public, but then I imagined how I would feel if I didn’t vote and Obama lost.  I thought about how I would feel if I missed this one chance, finally, for my vote to count in a way it had never count  before, and I decided I would have to vote, no matter what. 

This morning my partner used a Hoyer lift device to transfer me from bed to my chair, then assisted while I got cleaned up, changed into street clothes, had breakfast, and then packed my wheelchair bag with Ensure and water in case there was a line. The next challenge I faced was getting out of my apartment, since there are no ramps on the door thresholds and I had to get a running start for my wheelchair to get over them. 

 Once on the sidewalk I was rewarded with a  beautiful sunny autumn day and a nice wide bike trail for my chair to scoot along.  My partner accompanied me the 2.7 miles from our apartment to our  tiny polling place.  I was surprised to find a small room full of people registering and voting early. We were  especially delighted to see a large number of young people, some accompanied by parents and friends, many of whom were voting for the first time.   

I have to say I felt a bit silly to be so excited, as I waited for my turn to vote, but I realized it was an excitement born out of hope.  Hope that our country will move forward, hope that we can reverse the harm done by the Bush Administration, hope that Civil Rights will be afforded to everyone, the kind of hope that can stir even a jaded cynic like me. 

Even if Obama somehow loses this election I can now  feel that I did my small part to contribute an honest effort to reform the country, but I have great hope that he will win.