My Vote My Voice

By Joanne Lloyd-Triplett
Today I exercised my right to vote for the first time since becoming a citizen. It had never really occurred to me previously that my voice wasn’t being heard; after all does one vote really make a difference? Well now that I think about it, yes! And certainly in Louisville where we have a huge international population for a city of our size and it continues to grow at an astonishing pace. I can’t help wondering how many of my fellow immigrants don’t have a voice either. Never has the phrase ‘No Vote No Voice’ meant as much as it did when I filled in my voting slip this morning. There is a big difference between not having a voice and not exercising it, perhaps the lesson here is that you treasure something more if you’ve gone through a difficult process to get it – I waited 5 years for my voice and I intend to make it heard.
As the local Chamber of Commerce steps things up to attract educated immigrants to Louisville through it’s ‘Greater Louisville International Professionals’ arm I am excited at the prospect of true international representation at the polling stations, after all this is ‘Possibility City’!