Election Day is a significant event for any democratic society. It can be a day filled with routine and civic duty. For me, it was a day full of both.
I started the day early with a sense of anticipation in the air. My first responsibility was to drop my friend off at the train station. She had an early departure to vote in her registered polling area in Tampa, her hometown.
Next, I went to work. Once there, I felt the electricity in the air, and people were buzzing with energy. The election was on everyone’s mind, as I heard others talking about the importance of voting. This advocacy had been evident leading up to election day. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida had a 78.76% voter turnout, the highest in any election since 1992. We were invested, and I was hopeful.
Once I got off work, I headed to class with my hopes high. I walked past other students in high spirits, talking about their plans to vote, some discussing what their polling stations were like when they voted. A few people came to class dressed in suits and merch, supporting their candidates. In class, we discussed critical discourse analysis and fallacies in reasoning, examining artifacts related to the election. The class ended with a final reminder from our professor to go out and vote.
After class, I grabbed lunch — an excellent plate from the Caribbean Student Association that consisted of rasta pasta, Caribbean fried dough, and a salad. I paired my lunch at Foxtail with a custom Her Campus at UCF drink called “Wicked,” a tantalizing combo of Matcha and strawberry cold foam. I also checked in on my friend, making sure she was able to vote, as were other friends who were voting on election day.
It was time to go volunteer once I finished lunch. I volunteered with GenCleo’s Youth Movement, The CLEO Institute youth movement that helps young people understand the urgency of the climate crisis. The world is increasingly unsettled by climate impacts that affect us all, and we must elect leaders who have shown care for these issues. My volunteer site was very close to the UCF polling station, so I got to talk to students and other volunteers about other topics on the ballot as they trickled in and out of the polling station. Most students seemed happy to speak to us, incredibly proud to announce they had already voted or planned on voting.
After my volunteer shift, I drove home, picking up a bottle of tequila and cookies from the store. When I got home, some states already called their results in. I had the TV loud enough for my neighbor to hear while I made a frozen margarita. While making my frozen strawberry margarita concoction, I heard Florida being called.
After Florida was called, I rotated between phone calls, texts, voice notes, soliloquies, and the news. It was clear Florida did not understand the assignment. We failed to protect women’s right to abortion. We failed to protect animals and wildlife. We failed to decriminalize the possession of marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
Florida was red, and so was the map — so very red. This red mirage was working a little too hard and making me anxious. I eventually went to bed a little after midnight, with my heart in my hands and a cry choked somewhere in the back of my throat. America seemed to have spoken.
We were given two choices for this election: one consisted of running a campaign of hope and the other running a campaign of hate. America seemed to have chosen the latter. My day started with so much hope and ended with pure despair and emptiness. This day will truly be one for the history books.