Since November, I thought my sister voted for Trump. Today I found out she voted for Kamala.

My family is both dye-in-the-wool conservative and extreme MAGA, with the exception of perhaps my younger brother and my sister. It can be a lot to deal with around the holidays, especially since I lean heavily more liberal and voted for Harris.

My sister and I have always had a kind of alliance in our political views. We can talk to each other in secret about our opinions that are sometimes in different realities from our parents and the rest of our family members. It was comforting in 2020 and still is now.

Anyway, around Halloween, everyone was filling out ballots a week before the election. My parents had done theirs, as had I. My sister hadn’t finished her ballot yet, so one night, she sat in my parent’s kitchen to fill it out.

Side note here. While I am out and on my own, my sister still lives with my parents as of this writing. She is leasing an apartment in the next week, though.

So, sister filling out ballot. Parents making dinner. I’m fiddling around on my phone, just having walked in the house. Sister asks something about a measure, and I walk over only to see that she has circled in “Trump/Vance” on her ballot.

I said nothing and just was simply surprised. I puzzled over what Trump could have said or done that brought her over to his side and made a note to ask her later.

Of course, I forgot to. Don’t know why.

Election came and went. Trump won. I felt more alone than ever with my political stance in my family, never bringing it up all to my sister because I was worried she would react the same way my parents usually did. With anger and laughter.

Cut to tonight. She’s showing me her dating profile, and she has liberal listed on her political views.

I go, “But you voted for Trump? I saw it on your ballot.

She chuckled and said, “I did that on the ballot so I could survive in this house. I got rid of it. But on Election Night, you know I went up there in person and voted for Kamala.”

Color me surprised. I was of course completely blown away tonight.