Once I turned eighteen during my senior year in high school, there was already this constant talk and meetings about voting and the importance of it. When they told us to register to vote in that big assembly room, that small thick paper they handed to us seemed so intimidating, especially when they asked for my social security number. (And you know it’s serious when the teachers let you call your mom for access with whatever information you don’t have imprinted in your brain.)

So in my high school government class, my teacher reminded us about why it was important to vote and invited us to discuss as to why or why not we should vote. To be frank, it is not so hard to understand why voting is important or rather, a privilege one should not take for granted. It is so easy to declare that your vote does not matter, and to spread that idea around. Which, of course, only increases the number of votes unaccounted for- which inevitably results in a group of people not being represented in the tally marks. Additionally, we are well aware that there are people back in the day who have fought and died for the right to vote. So, the same way our parents tell us not to waste food because of the children in Africa, we shouldn’t neglect the elections because of those who died and fought for this right to vote.

As we discussed people’s usual reason as to why they don’t vote, the common excuse of “I don’t know anything about these candidates” was brought up. Of course, in a country notorious for its laziness, there is an incredulous amount of Americans that don’t consider this idea: Research about your candidates. It’s not hard in this day and age to get to know your candidates and party and to familiarize yourself with what’s happening in your country. Each vote counts, and spreading that ideology that it doesn’t isn’t going to make this country any closer to being “for the people, by the people.”