There is an election taking place today. Hopefully this isn’t news to anyone, but unfortunately it might be.

According to polling data from the June primary election, roughly 25 percent of registered voters actually turned out to participate in those primary races. This is a sad but normal truth when it comes to elections; if people think it is unimportant then they will not turn out to participate.

Because today is only a runoff, most people will likely choose to stay home rather than use their constitutionally-given right to choose who they want in official office.

This right to vote on our representatives is one our ancestors fought to obtain in their quest to become a nation, and is a right that marginalized groups in this country have had to continue to fight for well into the 20th century. It is a right that has been given to us, to you, as an American citizen.

It is also one that most people don’t exercise.

Elections need voters and voters need elections. This crazy experiment of a country doesn’t work if no one participates in the process. That doesn’t mean just the big elections, it means every election that comes up.

With any luck, plenty of people have already voted today or are already planning on voting. But if anyone is not planning on going out, please reconsider.

Every vote counts, yours very much included.