by Zanna Vaida

Created on: February 23, 2010

FREE DEMOCRATIC ELECTION IS A THRILL FOR NEW CITIZEN

by Zanna Vaida

Deciding to join a political party isn't an easy decision for a new citizen. I've lived in the United States since coming from the Ukrainian Republic of the Soviet Union in 1991. And even though I paid taxes here, I could not participate in the political process. I felt like an outsider in the land I chose to make my new home.  In 2004, I became a U.S. citizen and had a chance to experience the democratic process as a participant. But deciding whether I was a Democrat or Republican wasn't easy.

The election in the former Soviet Union was easy. There was one candidate and one winner. It was all political propaganda - a ballgame where everyone knew what the final score would be before the first pitch was thrown. Our political leader was the communist who was chosen in advance by the party's elite.  Going to the polls in the former Soviet Union was a matter of ritual. It had nothing to do with the people's will. Citizens were afraid to express a viewpoint because of the threats of exile and torture.

I remember the Communist Party's logo: "The party and the people are twin brothers. When we say the party, we mean the people. And when we say the people, we mean the party." These promotional signs were displayed everywhere: in day care centers, schools, offices, stores and during parades and festivals.

When I became eligible for U.S. citizenship last year, I didn't waste any time. I completed a long application in March, was fingerprinted in May and went through an interview and took a test on U.S. history and government in September. On Oct. 7, I took the Oath of Allegiance and officially became a U.S. citizen.  I registered to vote right after the naturalization ceremony - beating a 24-hour deadline for registration - but didn't list a political party. A representative from the Journey's End Citizenship Express Program, a local refugee resettlement agency that helped me with the naturalization process, delivered my application to the Erie County Board of Elections. I soon received a notice that I was registered and could vote in the presidential election of 2004.

When I asked my friends and acquaintances for advice or opinions about what political party I should join - and why - some said that their decision to belong to a political party was based on personal beliefs. Others said they were a Democrat or Republican because "my father belongs" or "my mother believes in it." Some said that they vote for a candidate's moral standings, while others said they don't care about politics and don't vote.

On Election Day, I went to vote for the first time in the United States. I exercised my right as a new citizen and experienced the free democratic election. I voted for a person I believed was a good candidate with strong moral beliefs and leadership skills.

I still am not registered with a political party, but I am taking political science courses at Hilbert College. I found a Web site, www.politics1.com, that lists 55 registered political parties in the United States. The county Board of Elections lists only a few of them on its registration form.  The question of which political party I should join is still on my agenda. And the decision still isn't easy to make. But at least I am not an outsider anymore.

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