We at The Daily Eastern News believe all individuals who are able to vote should not take the right to vote for granted and voice their opinions in the upcoming elections.

Especially in college, when most students will be voting for the first time, it is important to remember why you should.

Voting provides citizens the opportunity to voice their opinions, vote for what they believe in and hold elected officials accountable.

Without this right we would not be able to help elect leaders who make decisions for our day-to-day lives or uphold our values.

This election season there should be no excuses for not voting.

You don’t know enough about the candidates running? Research them.

You should educate yourself on the people who will potentially vote on your behalf for years to come.

Not enough time in the day? Vote early. Call the Circuit Clerk for the county you plan to vote for to ask how you can vote early.

Think your vote doesn’t count? Together millions of Americans vote to elect the candidate who they feel will best represent them with their position.

It is the collective thought of “my vote doesn’t matter” that makes votes actually not matter. The truth is, every vote counts, when you think that your vote does not, you give someone else the same idea. Then before you know it, thousands of people believe their vote does not matter.

That can be the difference between a candidate getting elected or losing.

You can help campaign for the candidate you support or even just express that support to friends and family who may decide to vote for them and so on.

No matter how small the position, they all hold importance and there is no reason to spend a little time to go to the polls and voice your opinion.

In 2019 it is extremely easy to register to vote.

You can even do it while you’re scrolling through Facebook by searching Town Hall.

Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the Political Science Association and Student Senate will be helping interested individuals register to vote in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Food Court.

On Oct. 1 and 3 tables will be set up outside of Coleman Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

With so many ways you can register and so many options to vote for, why waste the opportunity?