Well, it’s all over. The crazies in Cleveland and the fanatics in Philadelphia have finally gone home. It took just under two weeks, but as Americans, we now know the official names “Small Hands Donald” and “Crooked Hillary” will be on the November 2016 presidential ticket. While many are rather content with the recent and expected news, many other Americans are wondering what to do next. These questioning citizens include but are not limited to those who supported the Roll Call Vote, those who engaged in the booming “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie” chant and those who are still watching CNN hoping that they misinterpreted everything that has been going on in the campaign trail for the past year. If you fall into any of these above categories and/or have no clue which way you are going vote, I have an answer for you: you don’t have to vote for either of them.

Disclaimer: This is not a Pro-Gary Johnson chain letter.

Because of the intense hype that has been ignited by the media, many Americans have forgotten that there is more to election 2016 than just the presidency. On top of the race to the White House, there are another 469 races going on. Yes, you read that correctly. 469 is the combined number of seats up for grabs in both United States Congressional chambers. Of these 469 seats up for election, 34 of them are Senatorial positions and 435 of them are positions for the House of Representatives. That means that over one-third of our senate positions are up for election/reelection. That also means that every single position for the House of Representatives is up for election/reelection. That is huge potential for many new faces in Congress.

While there is little chance that the turnover will be even close to great, there are still a few reasons why the Congressional election is so important. For starters, these people that you will be voting for were born and raised in the same town as you, drink the same water as you, and eat at the same local restaurants as you. In addition, these local leaders are people that will get things done for you. In all honesty, will it make our everyday lives easier if there is a wall lining our southern boarder? Probably not. But if our Congressman sticks a rider onto a large national bill that will fix that annoying intersection, our everyday lives will be easier. On top of all of this, the Democrats could achieve majority in Congress if they gain just five seats. That means, unlike the presidential election, (depending on where you live) your vote could actually matter.

There was no information here about an external sleeper candidate or hints about how to avoid a 270 vote count. However, there was information in here that national media seems to forget to tell us: vote for congress. Oh, and when it comes to the presidency, you can always write in “Mickey Mouse” if all else fails.