Every teenager should know the 26th Amendment off the top of their head but many don’t. The 26th Amendment bestows one of the most fundamental rights on 18 year olds: the right to vote.

According to the 2010 census, there are more than 30 million 18-24 year olds in our country. Still only 58.5 percent bother registering and a measly 49 percent voted in the 2008 election, according to the Census Bureau’s report on the election.

This makes absolutely no sense to me. Why don’t young adults want to vote? Well, according to the same Census Bureau report, the largest reason at 42.2 percent for not registering was “not interested in the election/not involved in politics.”

I understand politics isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine, but you should take some interest in this upcoming election. Think about it. You’re voting for the direction this country is going to take the next four years, years that will primarily take place in college for most students. You’ve got to think about what’s important to you now and what will be important.

The ever increasing price of college is something that’s on a lot of students’ minds. What is either President Obama or Mitt Romney going to do about the insane amount of student loans and debt?

Or how about the unemployment rate? What’s it going to be like in four years when we graduate and are searching for jobs? You have to figure what candidate has the best proposal to bring the high unemployment rate down, especially for fresh-out-of-school graduates.

Just these two things alone are major issues for young adults right now. There are countless others, of course.

And don’t say your vote doesn’t matter. Just think about what our country would be like if more people turned out to support Al Gore at the polls in Florida in 2000. Don’t underestimate the power of bunch teenagers and twenty year olds to influence this election.

But please, if you do vote, actually do the research. Don’t just blindly vote for one candidate because your parents or friends like him. Actually look at their positions on the issues. It’s so easy to go online and learn what they stand for. You’ll be surprised to find that you care about what they’re planning, because their planning your future.

So get excited for Tuesday, Nov. 6. Registration is completely painless; you don’t even need to leave your house. The deadline for registration in this election is Wednesday, Oct. 10.