By Anthony Corona
The last 4 years have been a flurry of changes both small and monumental. I lost my eyesight in a period of 20 days in 2016, forever changing how I navigated through the world. Everyday tasks as well as the important are all different now. Having said this; I voted by mail with sighted assistance in 2016 and have not voted since, which has been on my conscience ever since.
This year some amazing changes happened in my life and my world shifted from New York to Florida. I wanted to make sure my VOTE counted in this important election cycle so I began my vote planning early. I first needed to establish residency, obtain a current ID, and then register in my new home state. This accomplished with a few setbacks I was finally current in the voter systems and it was too late to vote by mail so I needed to make a in-person voting plan.
Sunday Morning I headed out in Para-transit to the Miami Lakes Civic Center to cast one, if not the most important vote I will ever cast. It was somewhat scary I must admit. I never used an accessible machine, would the lines be long and intense and of course would there be any problems.
The poll workers couldn’t have been any nicer and helpful. Since the accessible machine isn’t one used for the general vote I was able to skip the short line and go into the center to vote on arrival. I was given clear instructions and left to electronically mark my ballot. It was easy and in less than 15 minutes my vote was cast and my voice counted in the election.
It has always been important to me to exercise my right as a voter and finally being able to walk in and vote like I once did with sight feels like another huge milestone in my journey to reclaim those things that were taken from me with the loss of sight. My vote is in and I know going forward that I will be able to participate in the election process easily and accessibly.
ACB Voices 