With this election, I am going to the voting booth not “supporting” a candidate. I am voting for the one that I believe will do the best job for the citizens of this country; which includes my family.

Neither of the candidates align closely with want I would like to see.

The candidates have a history and skill set that they bring to the table. Both good and bad.

I am not voting to stop someone else from being the president. I am voting for one over the others because I believe they will make wiser choices than the others.

I am not voting for a fictional ideal candidate nor am I thumbing my nose at the candidates because they do not meet the standards of my ideal candidate – to do so would be to “throw away” my freedoms.

I am voting based on the given choices that are available to me because we live in a free country – America. I will vote for the person that I perceive will help to keep us free and lessen the growing tyranny of “government reach” into our lives.

Before I vote, I will research the available candidates and see where they stand on the issues that matter to me. I will do this not just for the president but for everyone I will vote for.

I believe that voting is too important to vote along party lines. I will vote for each candidate individually.

I would desire that you vote the same way I do; but I will still love and care for you regardless of who you vote for – that is what a free country like America stands for. You and I can still be friends with no change in our relationship if you vote differently than I do.

I will not listen to the spewing of hate and lies about America – we have, since our inception, been the champion of freedom and compassion to the entire world. We are not perfect, and I would like to see everyone, especially fellow Americans, stop expecting us to be. We are still that people at heart; it is our government that is not.

As I vote, I will pray for all that is good with our country and that God will continue to have mercy on us. I will pray that the elections are fair and that the “people’s vote” counts. But I will vote.