November is upon us and in 5 days, America goes to the polls. It is interesting how time flew by quickly. It was only a few months ago where lots of individuals began contesting in primaries seeking to be their political party’s presidential nominee. The rest is history. The last folks standing in the race for the oval office in one of the most unpredictable elections in the history of the United States are; Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic Party’s nominee, Donald John Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee, Gary Earl Johnson as the Libertarian Party’s nominee and Jill Ellen Stein as the Green Party’s nominee. Here are a few pointers for heading into Tuesday:

1. Vote Platform and Not Candidate: There has been unprecedented bickering as to who is more qualified to be the President of the United States based on past events, decisions and experiences. However, an in-depth understanding of the Federal form of government reveals that, an elected president and senate will run a nation based on their affiliated political party’s ideologies. On the campaign trail, candidates seeking to be elected deliver their message, which sets them apart from their opponents. Some of the ideas and promises will eventually be carried out should they be elected whereas others are only for branding purposes to secure a support base. Eligible voters have a preconceived ideology as to how the union should be run, which aligns with at least one of the political platforms being represented. As such, voting the platform that aligns with individual principles should be the way to go.

2.The Polls Might Be Wrong: In making of polls, a select few used to determine their opinions or favorability of a candidate. In general, a poll is not the exact representation of how groups of people think or feel. It is an estimate that can be prone to biases based on the factors considered when gathering of the data is being done. So that the X news polls indicates that candidate A or B is leading does not insinuate that candidate C cannot be the emergent winner on Election Day. A winner is determined based on the number of voters who turn out to cast their votes. So in order for an individual’s candidate to win, he or she must ensure to vote and mobilize others to vote for the preferred candidate as well

3. The Media Is Skewed: It is rather unfortunate to indicate that, the electronic and print media that are supposed to be independent and transparent have their preferred candidates who they desire to be elected. I am not making this point to bash or discredit the media for the tremendous job they have been undertaking throughout the entire election process. It is based on the assertion that, which media house you listen or read from will tell you who is the better candidate to support. So, depending on the media to make a choice is somewhat not objective. Listening, watching or reading the news from diverse outlets will create a balance at least for an informed choice. The various media platforms have individuals with political affiliations as employees so it makes sense to an extend why the support whomever they desire as more “fit”

4.Voting Is A Right: Across the world, the right to vote is not extensively practiced in all countries. In the United States, some citizens are apathetic towards their civic right based on the notion that whoever wins does not have a direct bearing on their families or the assertion that, politicians are all liars and must not be trusted and so they refuse to vote. The cache to acting this way is that, not voting ensures that whomever the eligible voter is less likely to support eventually wins because they did not go out to vote for their more preferred candidate as a vote could make the difference. Voting is an avenue for expressing patriotism as well.

5. The Beauty of Democracy Is the Unexpected: On Tuesday, eligible voters and those who have engaged in early voting will all desire to be informed by the close of the day or the next one that, the candidate for which they casted their vote won. However, who ever wins in Election 2016 will be the person whose message resonated with voters and caused them to support them. In the end, let us all appreciate the process of democracy the winner, notwithstanding.