Much has been said about the sheer diversity within this field of presidential candidates. One of the de facto barriers to the presidency — race, gender or religion — could be broken permanently this November.

Beyond this surface diversity, though, there exists an incredible ideological diversity among the candidates. As we face critical issues at home and abroad, from the environment to Iran, a multitude of solutions can be found within either party. Given this, any person should be able to find a candidate to identify with and support.

Critically, this election may alter the direction of the two parties for decades to come. While the Republicans must face the future of the increasingly strained Reagan Coalition, the Democrats must reconcile the disparity between Obama’s bipartisanship, Hillary’s centrism and the more liberal Congressional platform. From defining the relationship between populism and social conservatism, to dictating the national approach to healthcare, our votes matter.

With experts predicting the nominations, particularly the Republican nomination, might still be undecided even after Super Tuesday, every state is important, and many candidates still have a legitimate chance for the nomination. This is a radical departure from the majority of our political lives, which have been dominated by two political families and few genuine candidates for the party nominations.

Primaries have notoriously low participation, and they tend to bring out voters who are zealously devoted to one issue. By not participating in the primaries, people allow these special interests to set the agenda for political discussion and action. For both parties, this myopic voter participation does a disservice to the political process.

Even though getting an absentee ballot or registering in Tennessee might seem like a hassle, every vote and every state count too much to be ignored. As members of the Vanderbilt community, we have an obligation to educate ourselves about this critical election and participate.