Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share My First Time Voting Experience: Balil Chaudry, Maryland
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
My First Time Voting Experience: Balil Chaudry, Maryland
Recorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.
This snapshot was gathered by the Peale in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.
Balil Chaudry (00:00): My name Balil Chaudry. I'm a senior at Salisbury University. And I grew up in Brooklyn and Salisbury, Maryland. I was in Brooklyn until I was 10 years old and then I moved down here for the rest of my life, basically. And then I stayed here for college as well. It's an interesting mix because I got to live in both the city, more rush of a vibe, and also Salisbury, which is a really small town.
Balil Chaudry (00:27): So I got to see the disparity in both aspects of America. It was definitely an interesting process because I did the mail-in ballots. So I didn't actually go into any of the polling places and wait in line and then get my slip and then sit down and fill out the ballot. I was able to do it kind of on my own time, but it was definitely an interesting election to say the least. Thankfully, I was able to sit with family and we were all able to talk about all the policies and stuff.
Balil Chaudry (00:58): Because I do have my parents, say, not as invested into some aspects. They know the presidential election, the local election, but the certain amendments and stuff that are up for vote, they're not as well versed at that. So I got chance to explain it to them before we actually voted on them. Because a lot of times in past years they don't know what it is. They don't know which way they should vote or not.
Balil Chaudry (01:22): I voted in the mid-term elections as well. And it was definitely just because it feels like there's not that much at stake, but realistically, the legislative branch where our laws are made and stuff, so it's a very important election. I'm happy I got the chance to vote that. I had to wait in line for about 30 minutes and then I got in and then I had to get my voter ID and everything checked and I got my ballot.
Balil Chaudry (01:48): I sat down and I filled everything out and they had me put it through the machine. So it was an interesting experience. But when I was growing up and I would see my parents go vote, I always used to, at least when I lived in New York, there were these big boots where they would step into and close the curtain and they would vote as opposed to when I was voting here. It was just a tri-fold kind of thing in front of you blocking off from everybody else [inaudible 00:02:11] voting on a piece of paper.
Balil Chaudry (02:13): I definitely felt empowered. The sticker kind of helped, but it was definitely great to get that feeling of taking a role in the democratic process and just having your voice heard whether it was through Mail in or in person. At the end of the day, the votes still count there. You're still a person voting. I wouldn't say I was disappointed. I was more of just shocked because it's not what I was expecting. Because I walked in, midterms is when I first got to vote. I walked in, I was looking around at the booths, like "Where are they?"
Asset ID: 2021.03.06.e
View all episodes
By The PealeRecorded from Salisbury, Maryland, 2021.
This snapshot was gathered by the Peale in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. The full collection of stories is available at www.museumonmainstreet.org.
Balil Chaudry (00:00): My name Balil Chaudry. I'm a senior at Salisbury University. And I grew up in Brooklyn and Salisbury, Maryland. I was in Brooklyn until I was 10 years old and then I moved down here for the rest of my life, basically. And then I stayed here for college as well. It's an interesting mix because I got to live in both the city, more rush of a vibe, and also Salisbury, which is a really small town.
Balil Chaudry (00:27): So I got to see the disparity in both aspects of America. It was definitely an interesting process because I did the mail-in ballots. So I didn't actually go into any of the polling places and wait in line and then get my slip and then sit down and fill out the ballot. I was able to do it kind of on my own time, but it was definitely an interesting election to say the least. Thankfully, I was able to sit with family and we were all able to talk about all the policies and stuff.
Balil Chaudry (00:58): Because I do have my parents, say, not as invested into some aspects. They know the presidential election, the local election, but the certain amendments and stuff that are up for vote, they're not as well versed at that. So I got chance to explain it to them before we actually voted on them. Because a lot of times in past years they don't know what it is. They don't know which way they should vote or not.
Balil Chaudry (01:22): I voted in the mid-term elections as well. And it was definitely just because it feels like there's not that much at stake, but realistically, the legislative branch where our laws are made and stuff, so it's a very important election. I'm happy I got the chance to vote that. I had to wait in line for about 30 minutes and then I got in and then I had to get my voter ID and everything checked and I got my ballot.
Balil Chaudry (01:48): I sat down and I filled everything out and they had me put it through the machine. So it was an interesting experience. But when I was growing up and I would see my parents go vote, I always used to, at least when I lived in New York, there were these big boots where they would step into and close the curtain and they would vote as opposed to when I was voting here. It was just a tri-fold kind of thing in front of you blocking off from everybody else [inaudible 00:02:11] voting on a piece of paper.
Balil Chaudry (02:13): I definitely felt empowered. The sticker kind of helped, but it was definitely great to get that feeling of taking a role in the democratic process and just having your voice heard whether it was through Mail in or in person. At the end of the day, the votes still count there. You're still a person voting. I wouldn't say I was disappointed. I was more of just shocked because it's not what I was expecting. Because I walked in, midterms is when I first got to vote. I walked in, I was looking around at the booths, like "Where are they?"
Asset ID: 2021.03.06.e