My 5-year-old son cast his first vote today.

More on that in a minute. My day started much like that of millions of Americans across New York, New Jersey, California and the other Super Tuesday states as I woke up with a bit more excitement than usual. After months of reporting on the political process for DiversityInc, I'd finally have an opportunity to cast a vote. The excitement in voting is foreign to me. Truth be told, I can probably count on one hand the number of primary and national elections I've participated in. For that, I'm more than a bit embarrassed. The reasons, more like excuses, are varied, and none of them are very good. Many times I wasn't as informed about the issues as I should have been. On other occasions, there was never a candidate who engaged me to the point where I felt compelled to cast a vote. And there were times when I did vote, as in the 2004 presidential contest, but my vote was more against one candidate than it was for the person for whom I voted.

But this morning was different. There was finally a candidate that I not only connected with on many of the issues but who also offered me something that I'd never expect to find in any politician: hope.

So this morning, before the sun had fully risen, as the polls opened in my New Jersey town, I took my 5-year-old son to the church that had been designated as my voting precinct. We walked up to the volunteer, a graying Black woman who smiled at us as she searched for my name. I signed and we were ushered toward the voting booth. To my son, who's curious by nature, the experience of going into a booth and having a curtain closed behind us signified we were doing something private … something special ... something important.

Whether you've been voting for 50 years or it's your very first time in a booth, there's always a brief moment of irrational panic that somehow you're going to push the wrong button, grab the wrong lever and vote for the wrong candidate. (I learned this morning that in the unlikely event of this happening, you can actually get a do-over). But I found my candidate's name easily, and after showing him which button to press, I let my son cast the vote for me. He didn't completely understand what he was doing. But he understood it was special.

Who did I vote for? It's none of your business. The important thing was that I made a choice.

Whether my candidate wins or loses, what I'll take away from this morning is the opportunity to expose my son to the voting process at such an early age. At 5, he has a basic understanding of who the president of the United States is. He understands, as much as a 5-year-old can, that the president is an important person who makes important decisions. But he had no comprehension of how a person becomes president. So in the few minutes we had in the car as I drove him to school this morning, I was able to explain more to him about the experience we shared, why we did it and why it mattered. I don't know how much of this he'll retain before matters of more importance to a 5-year-old (such as birthday parties and school trips) take hold. But I hope by engaging him in the process now, he won't look at it as a chore when he's older, when it's his turn to make a choice. I hope that by introducing it to him now, he'll take the privilege more seriously than I have in past years.

It's Super Tuesday. Vote. Polls will be open in most states until 8 p.m. Don't take it for granted. 

More Election '08 >>