Election Day for the general primary election is on Tuesday, March 17. Most of us plan to vote that day at our local polling place, but there is another option that may be more convenient.

With Election Day falling during spring break, some students will be gone on vacation and may not be able to vote. This is why we at The Daily Eastern News strongly encourage all students to participate in early voting.

For those of you who plan to vote here in Coles County, you can visit the Coles County Clerk’s Office, in the courthouse, or the Mattoon City Clerk’s Office up until Monday, March 16, anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Both locations will be open from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, March 14. 

If you would like to vote on campus, you can visit the Bridge Lounge in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union up until Friday, anytime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are not registered to vote, and would like to register in Coles County, you can do so the same day, prior to voting.

Voting is a civic right that we all gain once we are 18 years old, and it is not something we should refuse to partake in.

This election is extremely important, because we are voting for a party’s nominee for President.

Many people feel that voting is pointless, but we strongly disagree.

We are all part of a country whose votes matter in order to elect candidates for specific political offices.

We should all utilize our right to vote and be proud and grateful that we are able to.

Spring break is a time for us all to relax and have fun before the end of the semester, but we should at least consider voting before we head out to the beach.

If you plan to vote in your home county, you can contact your county clerk’s office and they can give you the information needed for voting early and/or registering to vote.

Get out there and take part in one of the most important civic duties we have as American citizens.

Your vote counts, and it will indeed affect who could possibly become our next President of the United States.