Category: vote

election, innovation, vote

Our Election System Needs a Reboot

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

I just love it when the New York City Board of Elections goes to the trouble of sending me a postcard in the mail with the wrong polling station address. I moved in April and ever on top of their game, they sent me this postcard to inform me I needed to go to 84th Street to vote. I arrived there dripping from the heat and humidity to find out that I actually needed to go to 97th Street. I walk a lot in NYC, I’m in shape, and I’m doggedly determined to vote in a primary that has a lot at stake. If I need to walk 13 blocks out of my way in uncomfortable conditions, I’m going to do it. Goodness knows that many other people have endured worse.

But here’s why I’m fuming: how many other people got the same run around and decided not to make the trek to the correct polling station to vote? And who do we think we are to tell other people around the world how to run elections when our own Board of Elections is so mismanaged? The technology we use to vote is far older than I am. And let’s not forget that pesky little electoral college system (which thankfully is only involved when electing the highest office in the land, and the world.)

When is the innovation that is rolling full steam ahead in countless other industries going to be applied with rigor and vigor to our election process? When are free, fair, and organized elections going to hit the U.S.?

Disorganized or not, I’m going to keep voting in every election, mostly out of guilt. But when someone else says to me they don’t vote because it’s a disorganized process and they have no idea if their vote is even counted correctly because of that disorganization, I don’t have any rock solid arguments to persuade them otherwise. The only thing I know for certain is that the process is a mess and needs to be fixed.

Do you know of organizations and efforts to modernize the US voting system? I’d love to hear about them and find a way to help. 

action, calm, time, vote

Beautiful: No Time Like the Present

Christa Avampato

It’s time to stop saying “I can’t” and start finding a way toward “done”.

books, election, government, politics, vote

Step 306: Review of More Davids Than Goliaths by Harold Ford, Jr.

Christa Avampato

I saw Harold Ford speak at a Hudson Union Society last month. His talk prompted me to get his book More Davids Than Goliaths: A Political Education. Mr. Ford comes from a political family, and has spent the majority of his career in public service. In the past few years he has held positions in the private sector, and interesting and educational detour from his life in elected office.

It was especially interesting to read about his history. We went both went to Penn, and his stories about his undergraduate life held a special place in my heart because I understood the backdrop and context. My mom has my siblings and I volunteering on political campaigns as far back as I can remember. This was true for Mr. Ford as well. He’s passionate about education and health care, issues that are at the top of my list when I consider how I’ll vote during an election.

Some of his insights were new learnings for me. Though I’ve volunteered on political campaigns, I have never managed one or developed a campaign strategy. I’ll admit that prior to Mr. Ford’s book I never really understood how or why certain decisions are made on political campaigns. The routes traveled by candidates and the messages they deliver along those routes are so carefully plotted. His book tells his own personal history and bids for office; it also serves as a primer for understanding national political campaigns on a very detailed level.

What struck me the most throughout the book is how hard he worked for his offices, the ones he won and the ones he lost. The effort he exerted never wavered. He was relentless in his efforts, and all he asked in return was to be heard honestly and fairly. And he did sincerely ask for every vote he received. Through his words I have a new-found respect for anyone who runs for office. Putting yourself out there and withstanding judgment is an uncomfortable thing to do but it’s the only way to make societal progress on a broad scale.

Despite his loss in Tennessee’s Senate race, I hope he doesn’t give up. He has a long run way in politics ahead of him and our country needs political leaders with his integrity and charisma. Our future depends on them.

Today is election day, please cast your vote. Not sure where your polling station is? Click here.

change, education, election, government, Obama, President, vote

Why I vote

Christa Avampato

I had dinner over the weekend with a friend of mine who said that the person who is elected the next President of the United States will not be able to do anything to help our problems. He thinks we’re too far in trouble to be helped. In fairness, this friend is infamous for stating his opinion as fact (borrowing a phrase from my pal, Kelly) and he’s not American. He’s also facing a lay-off by his company that will likely send him back to his home country. He’s understandably angry and disappointed. And he doesn’t understand what it means to be an American. He doesn’t appreciate or understand how every vote by every citizen in this country makes a difference. 


I was a little miffed by my friend, the defeatist, though it has had me thinking very hard about why I vote and why I encourage others to vote. Right now, at this very moment, at every moment, people around the world are fighting for the right to vote. And I understand that passion but that’s not why I vote. Our economy is in shambles and our foreign relations are at an all-time low. I understand that we are in dire straights. But that’s not why I’m getting up at 5:30am and running to the polls tomorrow.

There were federal policies in place in the 1990’s that helped me put myself through college. Without them, I could never have become a college graduate, much less a graduate of a top academic institution. And as hard as Penn was for me, both personally and academically, my 4 tough years there changed my life. They opened up an entire world to me that I never knew existed. My future is shaped every day by what I learned and the people I met in that small area of West Philadelphia. And I had the great privilege of being there because people went to the polls on election day to put someone in the Oval Office who understood that equal access to education, regardless of socio-economic level, is critical to the future of this nation. Those voters and the policies they helped to put in place gave me a shot at a better life.

I vote to return the favor for so many people in this country who need my voice now more than ever. And they need your voice, too. Please vote. If you need to find your polling location, please visit http://www.voteforchange.com.