With the 2016 American presidential election looming near, the decision of whether or not to vote takes over the mind of many American citizens. Over the years, voter apathy (a lack of care for voting) has increased, resulting in a smaller sample of the U.S.'s citizens representing themselves through voting. The growing number of eligible citizens choosing not to vote is due to a number of reasons. First, many view the election as a situation where they are forced to pick the lesser of two evils. Second, many citizens hold the misconception that their individual vote lacks influence and cannot sway the ultimate outcome. Third, citizens often find voting too much of an inconvenience to their daily lives and instead opt to not vote. While the candidates are not always appealing and the poll lines can grow too long, the purpose of voting is for citizens to express what they want from their government. So, although your individual vote may not decide who becomes president, it does inform the government of who you feel best represents your needs, hopefully ensuring that those needs will be considered in future decisions.

In most elections, the overwhelming majority of voters tend to be middle-aged or older, Caucasian, and wealthy. Unfortunately, this demographic does not represent the needs and wants of all U.S. citizens, which is why it is so essential for everyone to vote. For example, eighteen-year-old students are likely concerned about paying off student loans, meaning they are also likely to support lowering the cost of college tuition. However, because the eighteen-year-old citizens are not voting and the middle-aged voters (who already finished college and paid off their loans many years ago) are, the government is not likely to implement affordable college tuition anytime soon simply because the only citizen voice they can hear is one that does not care about high tuition rates. All the input that the government sees is coming from just a few demographics so that demographic's desires are the ones which are more likely to be prioritized in decision making. Voting is the best way to have your opinions heard by government representatives so do yourself a favor: go out to the polls and vote. One day you'll be glad you took the time to ensure your needs were met.