College students aren’t the only people feeling less-than-enthusiastic about getting themselves to the polls this November. The term “enthusiasm gap” has gained entrance into the mainstream political vernacular, claiming that voters are less passionate and less likely to turn out at the polls this year compared to the 2008 presidential election. President Barack Obama has taken to the campaign trail to support Democratic gubernatorial and Congressional candidates in states across the country, hoping to inspire constituents who voted for him to feel just as passionately about electing other progressives in November. Of course, it will always be more exciting to vote for the most powerful person in America than it will be to vote for the governor of New York, and on the surface, it might seem less crucial to invest energy in local politics.

However, as Karthik Ganapathy’s op-ed, “Our Primary Duty: Why Students Should Vote” on page eight argues, the political climate at the local level can have tangible effects on national policymaking. And more importantly, the people we elect at the local level are the people who control the policies that affect our hometowns and us as individuals most directly. The choices you make in this election will help determine whether your local officials will grant funds to the public school your younger sibling attends, advocate for slot machines in your local shopping mall, make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving to your job or raise the sales tax in your state. In New York, gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan has gained national attention for running on a single-issue platform that shares his self-founded party’s name: “The Rent is Too Damn High”—a comedic take on the cost of living that, in all seriousness, many of this city’s residents experience and would like to change. Although these issues are not likely to produce sweeping legislative decisions that will change the course of American history, they will lead to policies that will affect your daily life at home.

It’s easy to get caught up in homework, jobs, clubs, internships and whatever else is going on in our obligation-filled lives. But now that the worst weeks of October are almost over, we should all take a deep breath, make up for those missed hours of sleep and catch up on what’s going on in politics that will affect our communities. It may be easy not to care, but it is also irresponsible. Voters’ apathy will diminish when newly elected politicians begin to implement policies that not everyone supports, but by that point, it will be too late. Now is the time to take an interest in your state’s leaders. Your vote does count, especially when others may choose not to participate. Whether you head to the polls or fill out an absentee ballot on November 2, make sure your voice is heard in this influential upcoming election and exercise your right to vote.