In the last few weeks I have had numerous people tell me that they aren’t going to vote. They all have their own excuses as to why they aren’t going to vote, but I truly don’t understand any of them.

As a 21-year old college student, this is the first presidential election that I am privileged get to vote in. This means a lot to me since for as long as I can remember, my parents always took me to the polls with them on Election Day and let me go in the booth with them when I was younger. I never really knew what they were actually doing or who they were voting for, but I knew the importance of voting. Knowing that I get a say, even if it is a very very small say, means a lot.

One of the main reasons that I believe voting is important is because we live in a world where not every country is a democracy where citizens get to choose who leads or rules or governs their country, makes decisions about day to day operations and chooses what the laws are and who enforces them. Luckily here in the USA, we do get a say in who runs our country. Not only do we get a say in who runs our country, but also many other things as well.

As an American citizen, you have the right to vote. With your vote, you have a right to elect individuals to represent you, your beliefs, your ideas and your values. Remember that when you vote this November you are not just voting for President. Although that is what we are mainly hearing about, there are many more rows of offices to vote for once you see the ballot.

As we enter this Presidential Election of 2016, I think we also need to step back to remember that not only are we choosing a president and vice president to serve our country, but also members of the house and senate, as well as state and county representatives and judges. You get a chance to decide the person you want to make decisions for your community, for your town, for your county, for your state, and for your country. In many ways these individuals are just as important for shaping our day to day lives as the President is. They are ones we are much more likely to come into contact with, make a connection with, and convince to rally for ideas of government that will help the communities we come from. These ideas then are pushed up through different levels of government to get to the top. We have to remember that we live in a huge country with many different political leaders who impact the President’s decisions. The President of the United States is the one who will have a huge say in governmental decisions, but we also have to remember that we have three branches of government, and a system of checks and balances that our founding fathers put into place years ago. It matters who has the majority in the house, who has the majority in the senate, and what the makeup of the Supreme Court looks like. If you don’t remember what checks and balances are, google “US Government Checks and balances diagram” for a refresher.

Some people make the excuse that they don’t have time or won’t be home at the time of the election. As this is the case for me, I actually already have received, filled out, and sent back my absentee ballot form since I am away from home at college and will not be present in my hometown to go to the voting booths as my family will.

Some people argue that their vote doesn’t count. When I hear this I want to ask if they ever took high school U.S history, who their teacher was and if they could tell me five things that they learned in U.S. history class. Most of these people have an opinion on who they want to vote for but don’t think that it will matter if they vote or not. Say there are 300,000s people who feel this way. Say that everyone who feels this way has the same person that they want elected. Say they all stay home from the polls. Now that person gets 300,000 less votes and may lose by 200,000. Theoretically this would mean that the person who won the election had more people who voted for them, but less people who actually approve of their strategies and visions for the country. Many have said that this will be a very tight presidential election, which gives me more reason to believe that every vote counts.

Seriously…I do not care who you vote for, as long as you vote. So please, please, please, go vote.