Driving throughout Grand Forks you will stumble upon political signs scattered throughout front lawns, with names such as Heidi Heitkamp and Kevin Cramer displayed. There is a short week until election day and the race continues. Heitkamp and Cramer are fighting for an open spot in the North Dakota Senate next to John Hoeven. They have been attacking each other’s character with political ads for months in hope of gaining popularity and votes.

Heitkamp is in hope of re-election as she was elected previously in 2012 with her promise of being an independent vote as her winning factor. This term she has taken a major blow due to the fact that she has voted with the democrats 68 percent of the time in recent sessions of congress.

Cramer was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 2012, he is now taking it a step further and campaigning for a seat in the North Dakota Senate. Cramer gained support from his career in North Dakota politics but is also taking a blow from losing the support from farmers.

In the end it all boils down to whether or not the citizens of the state of North Dakota vote on November 6. It is our right and our duty as Americans to vote, but there is a large majority that do not vote especially young people, due to lack of interest or lack of education. According to a survey performed by USA TODAY only 35 percent of Americans ages 18-29 are certain they will vote on election day. The young-voter turnout is following the fashion of the 2014 elections which also at low, perhaps the lowest turnout ever in the last three decades. There is many reasons for a low turnout amongst young-voters with the main reason being uninformed.

“We have norms in society not just about being a voter, but being an informed voter,” Robert Griffin, associate director of research at PRRI, said in an interview with USA TODAY. “If you have a portion of the society that judges itself uninformed, that will potentially have an effect on their likelihood of voting.”

Young-voters also believe that there is little change that will come from their votes, so they choose to opt out of voting. What is important is that young-voters choose to get out and vote because change can come from their votes due to the fact that young-voters account for half of the voting population. Young-voters are also a diverse group of individuals that are hit hard by political issues such as the recession. In the end every vote counts as some individuals have been elected with only a couple hundred votes separating them from their opponent.

In today’s modern world, it is easier than ever to educate yourself about the different political parties and their representatives. It is as easy as doing a google search, reading the newspaper, or turning on your nightly news.

As a college student you are able to vote in North Dakota if you are a resident or if you have resided in North Dakota for at least 30 days. So as a college student you are able to vote in the state of North Dakota as long as you can provide a valid form of identification that includes your address and date of birth. You can also provide proof of address with other forms of documentation. If you decide that you would like to vote with your home state you are also able to request an absentee ballot through your state.

Find your local polling place and remember to vote on November 6!