It means you don’t care enough to respond. The same principle applies to voting; by failing to exercise your franchise you send a message to Lansing, and to Washington, that says you absolutely do not care.

You do not care about the status quo, or the future – your future.

The United States is the longest running, most successful experiment of democracy in history. The reason for our country’s success is the system of representation.

Instead of having every member of the population debating political issues day in and day out, in this country we may elect people to debate for us, to represent our interests. It is a power that people in countries across the world hunger for, a power that our founding fathers and civil rights leaders fought tirelessly for.

Yet, despite the immense triumph of the right to vote, voter turnout is meager and disappointing.

In the 2010 midterm elections, only 39.9% of eligible voters made it to the polls, according to Pew Research. The number of eligible voters affected by the outcome of these elections was 60% higher.

The representatives in Washington impact everyone.

Voting is a patriotic duty that citizens of the United States are compelled to do in order to protect their democratic freedoms. Many argue that they feel as though their vote does not count, or that they are dissatisfied with the available candidates.

In spite of this sentiment, individual votes matter now more than they ever have before. With the introduction of unprecedented campaign spending starting in 2010, it is imperative now more than ever that individuals vote at the polls and refuse to allow major corporations to buy their candidates.

A company can spend a trillion dollars on campaign advertising, but at the end of the day it is your vote that will decide the race.

As for the concern that no satisfactory candidates exist, it is still important that you push your opinion with the ballot.

For months on end you are subjected to the opinion of every interest group and party that can afford to advertise on cable TV, and now can take the opportunity to subject them to your opinion with the ballot.

Vote for a third party candidate even if you believe that vote is futile. There are more than enough eligible voters who do not take to the polls to support a third and even a fourth candidate. The only true barrier to success is inactivity. Do not be a part of the problem, be the solution.

Lastly, it is important that you appreciate what it means to have the right to vote. There are a limited number of democratic nations in the world, and of those, only some are “truly democratic.”

To be able to vote, and have your vote actually impact the future of your country, is a rare privilege that you have a responsibility to exercise.

Remember that your family’s past generations fought for the right to vote; whether they escaped oppression to the Land of Opportunity, or whether they were the oppressed, they fought an uphill battle for you to be able to cast your vote to help decide the future of this country.