City council decisions directly affect students. For example, the party litter ordinance city council enacted in 2011 created $50 to $400 in fines for cluttering lawns and streets with post-party trash. The council also has the power to cap the number of patrons at bars in town, pending input from the Planning Commission, which would affect nightlife. If city council members know that a large portion of students will vote, they will tailor their campaign to meet student needs and coincide with student interests. But if students don’t care about city council, why would city council care about us? Maybe they will, but they likely are not going to consider a student’s perspective out of the goodness of their hearts.

Registering to vote is only half the battle. Actually getting to a precinct and casting a ballot is the challenge. Please, don’t let apathy get in the way of making the student voice be heard. It is a civic duty, after all.

Registering is as simple as printing out an online form from michigan.gov/vote and turning it in to the city clerk at 410 Abbot Road.

Convenient, right?

The Secretary of State will change the address listed on the photo ID or driver’s license of any person who has registered to vote in a different city or township, making it easy to re-register in East Lansing. In addition, polling locations are located on campus. Voters can cast ballots in Brody Hall, the Union, IM Sports-East and IM Sports-West.

Sure, voting back home with an absentee ballot always is an option, but voting absentee has been notoriously confusing. Remembering when to get the ballot and when to mail it back could prove a challenge, and one small slip-up could mean the ballot isn’t counted.

With traditional voting, polls are open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. When the time comes, messing with an absentee ballot might be more of a hassle than expected.

Another assumption that might be holding would-be voters back is the untrue notion that changing their residency during registration will affect financial aid.

For most students, registering to vote in a state that is not their home state will not affect any federal aid. Residency for voting and residency for the purpose of tuition benefits are not affiliated, and the former is generally an easier process, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Out-of-state students have the right to vote in their home city via an absentee ballot. They also can vote in East Lansing if they change their current address.

Even if a student is from out of state, there’s no reason not to register to vote.

Voting is common sense. Students should play an active role in the decision-making process in the city they live in.

As long as a student is 18 years old, or older, and a U.S citizen, they should help to make decisions that will affect East Lansing and MSU.

So register to vote. Get to the polls on Nov. 4. Bring a photo ID if possible and most importantly: cast that ballot.