Now that both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention have taken place and we have had some time to see how they affected the polls, voters have a better idea of how this upcoming election may play out. While each state is important, there are eleven swing states that could effect the outcome. It requires 270 electoral votes to win the Presidential nomination. Of the 270 electoral votes needed to win, there are 146 that are undecided at the time this article was written. These 146 electoral votes could decide whether Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton, Libertarian Nominee Gary Johnson, Green Nominee Jill Stein, or Republican Nominee Donald Trump will be our 45th President. Regardless of who you support, there is only one choice that you must make: everyone who is able to HAS to vote in the upcoming election. Voting is a right that many have given their lives for and it is not a universal right. What are these swing states? What if I go to school or work in a state other than the one I reside in and will be unable to make it to the polls in time? For more, lets take A Closer Look At: The Importance of Voting.

Colorado (9), Florida (29), Iowa (6), Michigan (16), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4), North Carolina (15), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), and Wisconsin (10) are the states that can decide our next president. Two of the states with the most electoral votes (Michigan and Pennsylvania) are historically democratic and the fact that they are not a guarantee for anyone makes voting this year even more important. Even if you do not live in one of these eleven states it is till important that you cast your vote. As the 2000 election proved, every vote really does count.

A common complaint of out of town college students or people who work in different states is that they cannot make it home in time to vote. There is a simple solution to that however, absentee voting. Now, you might be thinking that those do not count or that they are a waste of a vote but absentee voting does in fact count in EVERY election. These types of ballots are secret and your information will be protected just as if you are voting in person. Getting an absentee ballot is not a difficult task either, they only take a few minutes to sign up for. Here is a link that will let you register to get an absentee ballot: https://www.vote.org/absentee-ballot/.

With a decision that will affect everyone in this country and the world coming up it is irresponsible to not cast a vote. Voting is not a guarantee to everyone everywhere. By not voting this November, you are giving up your voice in how the country should be run. A Closer Look At is not encouraging one candidate over another.

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