It is important to register to vote and head to the polls on election day. Midterm elections are coming up Nov. 6, and the number of registered voted has increased in the past few years. A record 800,000 people registered to vote on National Voter Registration Day 2018, according to an Oct. 1 TIME magazine article.

“It is important to register and go out to the polls because the choices made in government have a direct relation to the lives of students,” junior political science major Ian Pearson, who is also president of the College Democrats, said. “For each student, the issues or policies that affect them are unique.”

If students have never voted in an election or have moved to a different area, they need to register to vote. In Illinois, the deadline for registering in person is Nov. 6. Students can register to vote at the Dekalb Public Library, 309 Oak St. The library has several voter registrars on staff, and people are able to register online until Oct. 21.

An absentee ballot can also be obtained if someone is unable to go to the polling location they are registered at. This could apply to students living on campus with a permanent residence elsewhere. If someone chooses to hand in a ballot in person, it must be done one day before election day; if the ballot is being mailed, it must be done five days before election day.

Regardless of reasons, midterm elections are important to take part in to determine who will be in legislation for the next the next term.

“Registering to vote is important because it is a tool that allows you to try and defend your freedoms from eroding further,” senior computer science major Aaron Jones, who is also president of Young Americans for Liberty, said. “It’s important to stand up for your civil rights to resist people who hate freedom.”

Regardless of political beliefs, it is important for people to vote because it allows students to have a voice in politics and vote for what they believe in.

When it comes to voting, people should form their own opinions and not base their decision on what someone else thinks.

“I don’t think it [other’s opinions] should be the sole reason you should or should not vote for someone, but I don’t see anything wrong with listening to what they [others] have to say and deciding if it had any impact on what you believe in,” junior accounting major Eric Plettau said.

Another reason for people showing interest in voting is because of their happiness with the results of recent elections. If students want their candidate to win, then they need to vote.

“I think it’s important because, especially referencing the 2016 election, if you want your person to win, you gotta go out and vote,” Ramon Ajasa, sophomore computer science major, said. “For example, a bunch of people who didn’t like Trump are the same people who weren’t voting the first time.”

Regardless of what party a person may belong to, elections are crucial in determining what happens, with policies or bills, for the next couple of years. If there are people out there that want change to happen, then it’s time to get out and vote.