Not throwing away his shot: Teen heads to polls dressed as Alexander Hamilton to cast his first vote
Michael Daniels’ trip to the polls Tuesday morning in Louisville, Kentucky, took a little longer than your average voter.
It was a quick trip, Daniels said – he was in and out of Ballard High School in about 15 minutes. But he spent a little extra time, he said, posing with voters who wanted a photo with Alexander Hamilton.
“Some people were asking me to sing, but I was like, ‘Uh, I’m kind of too tired, I just woke up,’ ” he said. “It was really fun to see people’s reactions.”
An 18-year-old Male High School graduate and aspiring theater performer, Daniels dressed up as Alexander Hamilton – the Founding Father at the center of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s illustrious “Hamilton” musical – for his first trip to the polls as a registered voter.
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The costume turned heads, but Daniels is used to it. He has two other costumes from the musical that he often wears on walks around his apartment complex near Westport Village in Kentuky. In his tailcoat and colonial shirt, he’s tough to miss.
As you’d probably guess, Daniels has seen “Hamilton” once or twice. Actually, he’s watched the film version of the popular musical “probably more than 20 times” since it was released on Disney+ over the summer.
“When I first watched it I was just addicted to the songs,” he said. “… The creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, I like how he decided to mix history – how we won our independence and how this one Founding Father made this huge difference in the U.S.A. – into this huge, modern, rap-style musical where it not only helps you learn about history but you have fun learning about it, with the songs they sing and the choreography.”
Daniels’ voting experience sounds unique, but it was pretty ordinary in some regards.
He got to the Ballard High School polling station at 7 a.m., he said, and didn’t deal with long lines or any voting issues. It took him five minutes to get dressed in the morning, he said.
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“I was so excited,” Daniels said. “I woke up at 6:30 and I was just like, ‘I’m ready to go.'”
Voting is important, Daniels said, because it gives people a chance to change the direction of the country – especially in a year, like 2020, where a presidential race is on the ballot.
“I wanted to be able to finally get the chance for my voice to be heard and show what I believe about who would make a good president, and truly change things for the better,” he said.
Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach.