Celebrity Drew Barrymore Wants You to Vote Because "It's Personal" By Claire Stern Claire Stern Claire Stern is the Deputy Editor of ELLE.com. Previously, she served as Editor at Bergdorf Goodman and was the Associate Editor at InStyle. Her interests include fashion, food, travel, music, Peloton, and The Hills—not necessarily in that order. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on November 4, 2016 @ 01:30PM Pin Share Tweet Email Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Like other politically active celebrities, Drew Barrymore is not taking the presidential election lightly. The actress, writer, and producer feels so passionate, in fact, that she recently penned a lengthy essay for Refinery29 about the importance of casting a ballot. In the piece, she discussed her 2004 documentary, The Best Place to Start, which analyzed the voting habits of millennials, and how it ultimately motivated her to get involved. "It became an amazing lesson that I will never forget," she told InStyle at the launch of her gift collection for Shutterfly in downtown New York City Thursday night. "It was like getting a degree in learning about why something is so important and how to become someone who can do it for the rest of my life. Now I bring my kids to the polling place with me; I let them wear the stickers. The primaries, anything. Whatever it is, I take them. I'm already instilling that." Stars Who've Exercised Their Right to Vote in 2016 She added: "I didn't grow up in a family that talked about politics. It [the documentary] was my way of scaring myself into learning more. With all the negativity and vitriol out there right now, it's still relevant. It isn't about a politician or a party—it's about how one person who didn't know anything found out why it was important. Because if it's not personal, you're not going to get out there and do it. You don't do things because people tell you to—you do things because you have knowledge and passion." VIDEO: Drew Barrymore Relives Her Most Iconic Red Carpet Moments Amen, sister.