We’ve all seen the commercials and can’t escape the mantras: your vote counts. There are countless people that will tell you to vote, even if you don’t like either candidate. I challenge you to take this one step farther.

You owe it to all of the people that came before you to make your voice heard. Don’t vote based on something a candidate has said or how a candidate has treated somebody. Look into policies and platforms that you may agree with, or may not agree with.

There are many people that struggle with the labels ‘Democrat’ or ‘Republican,’ because modern media has portrayed them as strictly liberal or conservative, not looking closer at the platforms of the candidates that may have. Modern media has portrayed Republicans as hatefully conservative and Democrats as remarkably indifferent, but these generalizations are only true of some, not all. Voting based on party and not on political stances and potential policy changes is like choosing your cereal based on appearance; it is the shallowest form of voting and means you are lacking the information you need to make an informed decision.

It is your responsibility as a citizen to vote for the next leader of your country and it is your responsibility to yourself to make this vote an educated one.

I’m not telling you that you need to study for hours on end in order to understand the ins-and-outs of each candidates political stance on every controversial topic, but I am asking you, begging you, don’t base your vote on the scandals or cover-ups that both candidates may or may not have been a part of, but base your vote on who, after some research, you believe is most qualified to become the next leader of the free world. So watch the debates, read the newspaper articles, and look into the political platforms. Pay attention to the facts, not just the mudslinging campaign advertisements or poor behavioral decisions (even though those are important, too). There is no such thing as being ‘too’ informed when you walk into the polls this November and with the candidates this year being the two most hated candidates in history, it is of utmost importance that you understand the qualifications that each candidate has and vote based on that, not based on who you hate the least.

While it is likely that our next president of the United States is going to be hated across the country, voting is something that our forefathers have fought and been killed for. Some of the people that have come before us had to fight harder than others for this vote, so that makes this right that much more important. Making the decision to vote without the proper education to make an informed decision is inexcusable with the technology and resources we have today to get the information needed to inform ourselves.

We are the decision makers of our country. Our democracy and its layout has given us the ability to be heard and to choose who will lead us based on who we say that we will be willing to follow. So don’t say you’ll follow someone because they wear pantsuits or a power tie, say you’ll follow them because you know you have the information necessary to say that you agree with their economic stance or immigration reform policy.