Emily leads voter parade

Emily works hard, dispensing great drinks and kind words from the window of a Coeur d'Alene coffee stand.

She's taking classes to improve the future for herself and her young daughter. And yesterday, she did something else in an attempt to better the conditions around her: For the first time in her life, Emily voted.

"I left two pages blank," she admitted. "I voted for president and for the three propositions. I wasn't certain about the other things, so I decided it was best not to cast an uninformed vote on those."

Smart girl.

And just one, we hope, of a legion of smart young people who are exercising one of their most important rights as American citizens.

No matter how all the ballot issues and intense races turn out, we consider America the ultimate winner whenever a strong majority of her registered voters flex that constitutional muscle. Emily's proof.

She says she feels proud having participated in the democratic process. She also says she feels empowered - that she and perhaps even her daughter have a little more at stake in what happens from here on out.

Emily now is officially involved. She says she'll be paying closer attention to other civic matters, and she's encouraging other young people to bone up on the issues and join the ranks of the equally proud electorate.

We salute Emily and every other Kootenai County resident who cared enough to put their fingerprints on Election 2012. Whether this was their first election or their last, together they made our community, our state and our nation a little stronger.