By this time next week another election day will have come and passed and some of us may fulfill our civic duty and participate in a democratic election while others simply will not. I think I should try and convince you non-voters out there why you should vote on Nov. 6 and in the special Congressional election on Dec. 11.

For those of you out there who will not vote I could waste my time and try to tell you how voting is your civic duty, and how it is the price of your citizenship. Or I might simply tell you if you do not vote, you personally lose the right to complain about the system and what you believe it’s not doing right.

Even though this option sounds great, I think there is a far better reason we can use. We could try and use the whole “Vote or Die” school of thought and have celebrities like Paris Hilton and 50 Cent who forgot to register or have felony convictions try to convince you of the importance of voting.

Maybe we could look at the importance of voting to certain groups of people around the world. I could tell you of how citizens in Iraq in 2005 risked car bombings and executions for the first-ever chance to freely vote, or how those in South Africa waited days on end and walked numerous miles to cast a single vote for the first time. The idea that we should all be grateful that brave men and women gave their lives because they believed we should be able to vote without fear of reprisals or violence committed against the ones we love could be another reason to convince you.

But if the blood of brave citizens were a good enough reason, we wouldn’t have as much apathy. After looking at all of these reasons to vote, I think I have actually found one that is good and will get many of you out there to vote.

The reason you should vote is because I am voting no matter what you do. I stress this point since I know there is a significant group of students out there reading this column right now that do not agree with me on the stances I have taken in past columns.

Let’s face it; we all know where I stand on the political spectrum, and I usually vote towards that political ideology that rhymes with “smish-schmub-licans” since nobody likes to hear the “R-word.” When you do not vote, but I do, all you help to ensure is that my political choices and views have a greater chance of winning since the “smish-schmub-licans” are now one vote closer to winning and your candidates are now a vote short.

Sure, you might think voting is a conformist act, but does not the fact that you have to listen to what my candidate (because I voted and you did not) says make you a conformist as well? It’s not like you can say “I won’t obey federal or state law!” Well, you might say that, and choose not be conformist, but then again you might be in one of the many luxurious federal prisons in our great country by the end of it all.

Voting might truly be “for old people” but then again, do you really want the same people who only care about getting their Social Security checks, and watching “The Price is Right” to decide on issues you have to deal with long after they are dead or senile?

So as you sit around next Tuesday and decide whether or not to vote, remember what is at stake this election day. Recognize that yes, one vote may not make a difference, but 250 individual votes can go a long way in an election.