Election Day is around the corner and as scary as that sounds, it is so incredibly important to go out and VOTE. To say this election is a tough decision is an understatement, even though in most ways it’s pretty clear who the worse candidate is. But, regardless of who you’re voting for, in order to make your impact you have to actually go out and vote. It is such a cop-out to say “Both of these candidate are awful so I am just not voting at all.” It’s irresponsible and just plain stupid. Go out, do your research, find a candidate that matches your opinion to the nearest point and support them.

Right now there 218,959,000 Americans that are eligible to vote, with only 145,311,000 actually registered to vote. In the 2012 election only 126,144,000 Americans actually made the effort to vote for their desired candidate. That’s roughly half of eligible Americans choosing not vote. Imagine how different elections would turn out if everyone actually put their opinions to good use? In the bluntest way, your opinion on the election has no value unless you are willing to do something about it. If I see one more person on Facebook ranting about how awful a candidate is yet they are choosing to not vote, I’m going to go crazy. If you’re not voting at all you might as well be voting for the candidate you hate. You can rant on Facebook all you want and favorite every trendy election-related tweet but nothing else matters unless you go out and actually make your voice heard. Hate Trump? Make fun of him on twitter? Mock him for Halloween? Well, if you’re not voting you’re basically voting for him.

If you aren’t voting, you are the exact problem with politics right now. Political campaigns will never change if the people fighting for change are staying quiet. Vote for leaders who will change what you find to be corrupt with our system. Get people in office who will make the difference you wish to see. You want to see new political parties in office? They will never get there if you choose to stay quiet. And even though at this point in the election we aren’t left with many options, it is still one of the most crucial elections to go out and vote for. Please don’t let someone be in office who is putting our country at risk of such major damage because you were too proud to participate.

So when Election Day rolls around, please go out and vote. Your vote may seem minuscule in the grand scheme of things, but there are thousands of people thinking the same thing. Collectively, they have the potential to greatly impact the outcome of this very strange election. You’re not making a statement by withholding your vote, your supporting the very candidate you hate. Making the effort may sometimes feel time consuming but it really is so simple. If you aren’t in state for Election Day, requesting an absentee ballot is incredibly easy and going out to physically vote will take one hour, at most, from your day. Don’t contribute to the problem, go out on November 8th and make your opinion matter.

Absentee Ballots: must be mailed out by October 31st!

Election Day: November 8th!