It’s a rare thing when I will call something an obligation for everyone capable of doing that thing. But the act of voting is one of those rare things. In the United States every person who is registered and not otherwise prohibited from doing so should be voting today. The sad thing is that many people will not participate in our democratic process even though they are eligible to do so.

But, if we are to preserve our republic, every voter needs to actually vote. We need to encourage other people to go vote — even if we know they will vote for a different candidate than we will. It is the very act of voting that is important because it is the best way to register our opinion on a variety of different matters. Voting is also about issues and how we feel about them.

Our opinions on reproductive rights, marriage rights and things like our schools are just some of the things that will be on ballots across the United States today. We need to vote if we want our opinions on them to be counted.

For those who say they do not have the time to vote, I say make time. Do not complain about the winner if you have not voted when you are able to do so. (If you are not ABLE to vote because of age or other valid reason this does not apply to you) BUT if you are not barred from voting by law or age, YOU NEED TO BE OUT THERE VOTING! That is the only way that we can tell the politicians what we think in any meaningful way.