Tabitha Redder/managing editor

Voting season crept up on many students this year. Amid the stacks of homework, studying, possible transfer applications and maybe even laundry — many of us have little time (or choose not) to pay attention to things like elections and political issues.

Hopefully, dear reader, you know that Texans will elect a new governor on Nov. 4.

But many people, notoriously young voters, enter the voting booth blind.

Not enough people take time to research candidates’ stances on political issues and/or how they will affect them.

Research? You already have a research paper to write in your English class! You don’t need another test to study for — all there is to do is choose blue or red.

Wrong. Kind of.

No, this article is not written to coerce uninformed readers not to vote, just to vote knowledgably and partially to shame them into becoming more politically versed.

There are a number of “blind” voters.

First, the neglectful voters: The voters who almost innocently enough forgot or didn’t have time to look into campaign issues. They might have heard buzzwords on the radio but are unsure what they are getting into after pulling that curtain behind them.

Next, the voters who just blindly adopt the same political ideology of parents or peers. They don’t look into campaign issues because they feel like they don’t have to. They automatically turn a hostile eye to issues they have little knowledge about. Their opinion might be different than Mom’s or Dad’s, but they wouldn’t even know.

Lastly, the aliterate voters. These people have time and access to knowledge on political issues yet choose not to utilize either. They might vote straight party without even checking into candidate stances or even close their eyes before making a selection.

“What? Why would I even care? I didn’t know this was a ‘What Type of Voter are You?’ quiz!”
These issues affect you!

That’s your community college state funding up in the air. That’s your younger sibling’s standardized testing future. Why wouldn’t you care about that?

Sacrifice five or 10 minutes of the time usually wasted on social media websites or apps and use it instead to perform a quick Google search about hot political issues in the upcoming election and read an unbiased summary of the candidates’ stance on them.

You have a vote. Just vote smart.