Wanda has voted.

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for.

And the most you can do is live inside that hope.

~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams~

This is the first time I have been excited to vote.

Oregon has vote by mail, making it very easy to vote early. I love it. You can sit down at the table with your favorite beverage and friend, surround yourselves with voter's pamphlets and all the mail propaganda you have received and make your informed decisions in an intensely deliberative manner.

Take your time. No one is waiting in line for your particular booth.

Then you can drop you ballot in the mail and let the USPS do the rest. Or, as I did, you can go to one of many ballot drop off stations and...drop your ballot off. That's what I did.

As much as I love vote by mail, I also used to love the ritual of going to the polling place: standing in line with other citizens, signing my name, going into the little booth, returning my ballot to the election official, and hearing her say, "Wanda Tucker has voted," in a strong voice.

So, after dropping off the ballot and returning to the car, I always say, "Wanda Tucker has voted!" Somehow that makes the process complete.

Whatever method you have available to you...VOTE. Vote early. Vote often. Just vote. That's what I did. (Just kidding about the "often" part.)

Wanda Tucker has voted.