NOT TAKING THE VOTE FOR GRANTED

I'm here in a PENN computer lab waiting for my training as a MyVote1 volunteer to begin. What's MyVote1? Well, soon I'm about to find out, but essentially my government school, Telemundo, and others are collaborating to provide a national hotline for voters to call in to report any problems or ask any questions.

But the project isn't just about getting out information, but also to collect it. My job, among other volunteers, will be to help transcribe all of the phone conversations and sort them into various buckets. NBC will be broadcasting live right next to our call center, reporting on trends that are pulled out of the mounds of data we'll be accumulating. MyVote1 could help break a huge story on voter intimidation in Ohio or confusing ballots in Florida.

With the race as close as the pundits are saying it is, voter turnout should be up a healthy tick. Still, I think about places and times where voter turnout was practically 100%, people were so grateful for the opportunity to have their voice count. Whatever political party you are or whichever candidate you think is an idiot, remember to make it to the polls next Tuesday.