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[CLAPPERBOARD]
BENA CURRIN: When I was a little girl,
I wanted to become president.
I had a t-shirt that said "A Woman's Place is in the House,"
but it had a picture of the White House on it.
In sixth grade, I had a teacher who on the last day
of school had us write a letter to our 18-year-old selves,
and seal it in the envelope with a registration form to vote.
I remember looking forward to it.
I remember knowing it was up in my closet
for, I guess six or seven years, waiting for me.
Oh, yeah, the first time I voted, oh my gosh.
I was an undergrad at the time.
We could have done the mail-in ballot at that point,
but all of us were like, no, we're going to go do this.
We're going to vote.
Me and all my friends and my roommates,
we all walked to the polling place together.
We're standing in line, and turned to the guy behind me.
I'm like, hey, we're going to vote.
And he's like, uh-huh.
And we're just happy to be there.
We all took a ton of pictures, and posted
them everywhere, and just couldn't
wait to get our stickers.
I wore that "I voted" sticker I think for like three days
until it finally fell off.
People were like, we get it.
I very clearly remember the first time
I voted because my mom was running for city council
in Boulder, and so the first time I got to vote
was actually for my mom, which was
one of the coolest things that's ever happened in my life.
She won, so that was pretty cool.
Going in the archives here to go into-- had
to go in my scrapbook here.
This is me registering to vote.
My mom, Alice Sarafian, was the president of the San Leandro
chapter of the League of Women Voters, and on my birthday,
my mom took me down to register to vote.
Captured forever with my feathered hair.
Your eyebrows are amazing though.
Thank you very much. So there we go.
So there's my prop.
Register to vote.
My first time voting was in the 2016
presidential elections, just a couple of years
after I became a citizen for the first time
when I was naturalized.
So I was very happy, and I really enjoyed that.
Oh, my god, I can make a difference?
When I became eligible to vote,
it was such a huge deal for me.
My friends came with me to the polling station.
And there's a photo of me holding
those little slips of paper because I was so happy.
So yeah, it was definitely memorable.
I'm sure I'll tear up a little bit.
Yeah.
I think the 100- year anniversary of
the 19th Amendment is awesome.
However, I wish that number were bigger.
It's a lot smaller than the founding of the United States.
It's sort of shocking it was ever a thing
that women couldn't vote.
It's only been 100 years?
OK.
Yeah.
Democracy was a very limited term,
and the fact that "everybody" could vote
wasn't "everybody" could vote.
The legal definition is you may not be denied your right
to vote because of your sex.
That might not necessarily protect
a trans woman or potentially a non-binary person.
I think it's important to note that until 1965, women of color
were not able to vote.
So I think it's really important to remember that.
My grandmother, her grandmother--
that was something that didn't apply to her at the time.
I take a lot of pride in how far we've come because I know
a couple of generations ago, I might not have that same right
to be able to vote.
I think our right to vote came a little bit later,
but it is a huge stepping stone and something so wonderful.
It's a privilege for us as a Filipino American
and as a Korean American to have.
It makes me feel like I need to get stronger in being
able to continue the fight.
Because as a woman, especially my age,
I've gotten too used to things that shouldn't be there.
That needs to be changed.
I think women will play a big role in the 2020 election.
We have the power to decide what type of future
that we want.
This is our life.
This is our life, and our rights.
Every vote counts.
Every drop of water makes the ocean.
All of these elections and these decisions that are made,
affect each and every one of us.
Good change has been happening that I would have
never imagined in my lifetime.
This is your one opportunity really
to make your voice known.
The way that voting is most effective
is when everyone is involved.
Like, I was one of those people.
Like, I didn't vote for a really long time.
I thought politics didn't concern me.
That the status quo was fine.
That my rights were never in danger.
Hope is our most valuable resource.
To vote is to hope.
The greatest way I think to encourage people
to vote besides just saying get out and vote
is offer your help.
It's really important for white women
to show up for minority women.
Educate people of color in how to vote, where to vote.
We really care about this country,
and if we really care about the world,
we need to just stay engaged.
I think we've come a long way, and
there's still a long way to go.
But we're powerful enough to do it.
Exercise your right as a citizen and vote.
It is your duty.
Please, go vote.
Go vote.
BOTH: Go vote.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Let's go vote.
ALL: Go vote.
Please, vote.
I'll drive you to the polls.
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