One in five eligible North Dakotans turned out to vote in June’s primary election. My county did better than the state average with 43% voter turnout in Kidder County. But little Billings County in western North Dakota, home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and 945 people, did better than all of us with 59.25% voter turnout. Teddy would be proud.
I paused for a moment of self-reflection on page 28, where North Dakota Living readers share why they vote.
I remember my mom taking me to vote at the Jamestown Civic Center in my first election after I turned 18. I’m not sure whose smile was brighter that day. It was the June 2008 primary election. I had just graduated from high school. I was wearing navy blue Converse low-tops that said “VOTE.” Mom took a picture of me. I’m sure she has it saved somewhere.
I went to college at Brown University in Providence, R.I. My absentee ballot never got lost in the mail. I’d find it in my campus mailbox next to the handwritten letters my dad sent me a few times each week.
I’ve voted in every eligible election.
It’s hard to believe my great-grandmothers were born in this country at a time when women didn’t have the right to vote. My great-grandma Frances Musland always had a lot to say. I wonder what she would have said about that.
There are things we take for granted in this country.
We expect the light to turn on when we flip the switch. Do you ever think of the long journey electricity goes through to get to you? Or the policies, politics and debates that shape how it gets to you now, or how it will in the future?
I worry we’ll forget how lucky we are. Without Grandpa to tell us about life on the farm before electricity or indoor plumbing. Without Grandma to tell us about marching for women’s suffrage. My generation will be the last to remember a childhood free of social media and cellphones.
I am proud of our cooperatives and their strength to lead on issues that matter to rural communities. I am grateful they provide this publication of substance to their members. And we are proud to deliver the 2024 Election Issue of North Dakota Living to you.
Thank you for reading. See you at the polls.
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Cally Peterson is editor of North Dakota Living. She can be reached at cpeterson@ndarec.com.
