Today is the last day to vote. The institution of voting is the basis of our government and defines our country. It is the citizen’s way of ensuring their voice is heard. While having a voice is great, students also need to establish their opinions about issues and vote based on the important issues.

Budget cuts affect everyone’s life, but as students of a state land grant institution, we feel it the most in our education. Class sizes increase, faculty don’t have funding to pay for research and facilities repairs and construction come to a stop. Students need to look at the candidates who will look out for them when the state budget goes to the chopping block.

State midterm elections are important, but often forgotten. This year’s state election is very important for North Carolinians though. The North Carolina General Assembly will be redrawing district lines in the state because of the 2010 Census redistributions. This means the majority party has a better chance of picking its own voters.

Graduating seniors, graduate and doctoral students are about to head into the workforce and their main concern is most likely the economic climate of the country and the job market. They need to critically consider how their candidate plans to make jobs and stimulate the economy.

While there are many positions on the ballot, a U.S. Senate seat is open. Richard Burr (R) and Elaine Marshall (D) are up for election. Burr did not support any of the stimulus plans and Marshall believes the way to deal with the economy is to make cuts where necessary and make appropriate investments. Marshall said, “When capitalism takes over, we get economic collapse,” while Burr voted to override presidential veto of Farm Bill and extend unemployment benefits from 39 weeks to 59 weeks in 2008.

Many factors are going to play into how students vote, but they need to be informed on the issues most important to them. Numerous websites have information about the candidates and the headquarters for the parties are available to answer questions about candidates. With all the information available, if students are informed and don’t vote, they can’t complain because they forfeit their voice when they don’t vote.