Next month, Americans will vote for the people who will lead the country for the next four years. These people will decide which path America will take for the future.

One vote can decide whether the country moves into the future or dwells in the past. Voting is one of the most important rights Americans can exercise, and it is not very hard.

Many naysayers of voting have said that a single vote does not matter. It does matter.

In the 2000 presidential election, the candidates were Vice President Al Gore and then-Governor of Texas, George W. Bush. The election came down to Florida, where 6 million people voted, and by a margin of 537 votes, Bush won the presidency. That election proved that every vote is important, and it could decide who occupies public office.

One of the most important voting groups is young people. This group overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama for President in 2008, and pushed him over the top to win the White House. In 2008, between 21.6 and 23.9 million votes were cast from 18 to 29-year-olds. Those millions of votes could decide who becomes president this election.

Young people must vote because the fate of programs that affect them will be up in the air. Some candidates have said they will cut programs such as Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans to balance the budget. If young people care about these programs, they should go vote, their future is at stake.

Voting is a right in this country. It has been in the Constitution since its inception. Not all groups were eligible to vote when the Constitution was put in place, but after many generations, all Americans over the age of 18 can vote. Many people fought for the precious right to vote.

Voting is not just something that can be tossed out and forgotten like a piece of trash; people must vote or face the consequences of not voting. It is the easiest way a person can make a difference in their state and country.

Some states around the country have passed laws that require photo ID when voting to prevent voter fraud. Many people are angry with these laws because to them it is a solution without a problem and it suppresses some people’s right to vote.

Most of the laws were passed after the 2010 midterm election, when many states elected Tea Party politicians to office. Voter turnout was about 37.8 percent of eligible voters, which is lower than the turnout in 2008, where 56.8 percent voted. If more people had voted in that election, then these laws that people dislike may have not been put in place.

Voting can make a difference in the United States. It can mean the country prospers or fails, but that cannot be decided without voting.