I struggled to see the importance of voting for a long time. The most recent presidential election was the first chance I had to vote on an important government position, and like many young voters, I felt like my vote wouldn't matter either way. The truth is, you never know if your vote could be the one to tip the scales. Come at me all you want about electoral colleges and gerrymandering, (both of which I vehemently disagree with, but that is another topic) but the individual vote does still hold weight.

People have died so that you could elect your own government officials. If you are a woman, then even more individuals fought for your right to vote. If you are a person of color, even more have. It is a disgrace how many young people choose not to vote. You are not standing up for anything, you are sitting out.

That being said, please do not vote uninformed. We, as a generation, should be the most informed voters, with so much information at our fingertips, but instead, we choose to stay ignorant or to listen to partisan sources, like cable news, our families, and even comedians. Even if you only read up on one candidate a day, you have plenty of time before November to get the information you need.

Don't know where to start? How about your Secretary of State's official website.

Here's the link for Texas's list of candidates. Just choose your county, and a list of all your possible candidates will be displayed. Look up the official website of each candidate, for the offices you plan to vote for (even if they aren't endorsed by your party) and read their "issues/platform/legislation" page.

The process should be similar for other states.

For my Texas voters, you really have no excuse! I am doing all the work for you. Here are the websites for 6 of the most important candidates in our state.

Candidate websites for Texas State Senate

Ted Cruz

Beto O'Rourke

Neal M. Dikeman

Candidate websites for Texas Governor

Greg Abbott

Lupe Valdez

Mark Jay Tippetts