As a daughter of two lawyers, one of which was a political science major, I had an interest in politics at a young age. Therefore, I know how important it is for a millennial, a woman, and an American citizen like myself, to go out and vote this year.

There is so much at stake that a lot of younger people don’t realize. I have friends in a few of my classes that say they are not going to vote this year or would rather vote for a third party. They do not realize that a vote for a third party is a wasted vote, or that not voting at all is also a vote for a man with no respect for this country or the people that live in it. A lot of people attribute their reason for not voting to the electoral colleges, or that they hate Hillary. They feel the election is rigged and, therefore, their voice is not going to be heard. So who cares if a misogynistic, narcissist and racist like Trump wins the election? They don’t feel like it is going to change anything. Well, these people are 100% wrong.

Here are some reasons why it is important to vote this year:

1. Our country is a democracy and only works when its citizens are active and participate. After the Latinos for Trump Leader said that there will be taco trucks on every corner, taco trucks are actually registering people to vote.

2. One of the jobs of the president is to be the political figure of our nation. He or she will represent how the world sees us and will interact with us for the next 4-8 years. When it comes to this how do you want our country’s president to be perceived as?

3. We have a candidate that has used hate and fear mongering as a way to gain voters. He has shown the world and this country that he may be able to speak his mind, but he does so with no respect to our country and our allies. It’s called demagoguery. These people actually exist:

4. The world has already had many female leaders of countries, and we may, for the first time have a female leader. Let that sink in for a moment. A female leader of our country is a big deal. This isn’t a joke. It isn’t a TV show. There is going to be a real lady president of the United States of America.

5. Even if you are tired of voting for the lesser evil, these two are not equal. There is a far difference between a career politician who has made some questionable choices versus an openly racist fear mongering somewhat unsuccessful businessman.

6. Our country is currently dealing with many issues of social justice and racial tension and having a leader with archaic and racist values is going to make everything significantly worse. He is compared to Hitler. He has said he will not speak ill of the KKK because he wants more votes. This is not okay. None of this is okay.

7. There is a man running for president with no respect for women or understanding of what consent is. An audio recording of him making vulgar comments about women and stating that he kissed a married woman without consent was just released. He was also accused of raping his ex-wife and said he’d date his daughter. He objectifies women and is the embodiment of rape culture.

8. He is connected to many international businesses and owns many international businesses and has no interest in putting them into a blind trust. This is a gigantic conflict of interest. He has not released his tax returns either.

9. He has a running mate that is also very frightening. This running mate has no interest in women’s rights, gay rights and has stated that Vladimir Putin is a better President than President Obama, even though he claims he has not. Also during the Vice Presidential he could not even defend Trump.

I normally don’t like to get into politics with people. Normally I avoid the conversation because I don’t usually think there is anything I could say to sway other people to vote or not. Well, there is a lot at stake. So, this election season, go out and vote.