“If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.”We’ve all heard that argument in favor of voting before. And we’ve all seen the countless “get out [to] vote” campaigns that are always taking place, from Rock the Vote to Vote or Die (which was probably an idle threat). At this time of year, everyone frequently faces messages of not just voting, but who we should vote for as well.            And yet, at this moment there are probably more people contemplating who to vote for on “Dancing with the Stars” than in their local congressional district. There’s no secret which of those two is really more important in our lives, but that doesn’t exactly coincide with what many people will pay more attention to.            Yes, there is a certain degree of criticism that voting really doesn’t matter. And even if it did matter, there are those who think that none of the candidates are worth electing. It’s easy to think that when we are all bombarded with incredibly vicious campaign commercials. If George Washington ran nowadays he would somehow be vilified to an endless degree.            It really would not take much time and effort to become informed about the candidates we have a chance to vote for in a couple of weeks. Listening to the debates and researching online where each candidate stands is very important, even for those that always vote. Not all democrats or republicans are the same. Looking at each candidate individually and not just going by the letter next to their name is another important step to take.            And then there are perpetually ignored third party candidates. Often, voting for one of them is seen as a wasted vote, as they seemingly have no chance of winning. They are always worth looking into as well. These candidates certainly will not win as long as the idea that there is no point in voting for them is still popular.            Yes, with each candidate we will surely find some things that we don’t like or don’t agree with. None of these people are perfect. The people waiting for the perfect candidate who stands for everything they want and does everything correctly will never find what they are looking for. We can’t expect to agree with every aspect of the platforms of these people. But we can certainly weigh the options and decide which candidate is the best one.            But perhaps it’s possible that after all that researching is done, none of the candidates seem worth voting for. Maybe they are just all so abhorrent that you just can’t bring yourself to cast a vote for any of them. I doubt that’s much of a possibility, but perhaps that could happen. At least in that case the decision was made after becoming informed. Just deciding not to vote without any of that information is plain ignorance. An uninformed decision to not vote is just as bad, if not worse, as the person who votes without really knowing who they are voting for.            It is both amazing and sad that we have to be motivated and pushed to vote in this country. The only way your vote truly does not matter is if you stay at home on election day. Not voting is not some kind of noble statement that will make a huge impact. Inaction doesn’t breed change. Whether you’re satisfied with how the local and national government is at the moment or not, voicing your opinion through voting is important. It’s really that simple.