Naive but not discouraged: Use your voice

This is one of my shorter editorials, but I feel it makes a very important point.

Jan. 21 marks the first anniversary of the Women's March on Washington, which sought to bring awareness to the rise of women in our national community.

The main march this year will be held in Las Vegas and will center around voter registration.

Voting has been a heavy topic lately, coming in up various city meetings as well as a prayer breakfast I recently had the honor of attending.

One thing that has always struck me about voting is that while you may be faced with two candidates for presidency, there is always a third option: abstaining.

People don't realize what an impact abstaining from voting can truly have.

Not only does it hinder you from making your voice heard, but it skews the voting system our country is based on.

While our country is a republic, our voting system runs on a democracy setup, focusing on the needs of the majority.

The major flaw with this is that the "majority" only includes those who vote, not everyone in the community. Therefore, when you don't vote, the meaning of majority in your community decreases substantially, and in some cases, what is considered to be a majority in terms of who actually voted only represents a percentage of your community.

Please, take advantage of what is available to you and use your voice! If you care enough about the elections to have an opinion on the candidates, then act upon it and head to the polls.