For many years, I would rarely vote. All elections, save presidential, I would have considered insignificant. However, in the last few years, I have arrived at a different conclusion: I must vote as often as possible. Even if I write in my father’s name or my own, two people I know and trust pretty well, I decided I would vote as often as possible. Our democratic system only works if we use it.

Tomorrow, it is likely 10 percent of Ames will determine which candidate will represent 100 percent of its citizens as the sixth member of the Ames City Council. But less than 20 minutes of your time on Tuesday will entitle you to determine, in part, the course of this city over the next four years.

Many of us vote in presidential elections because the impact of the position is so great: It is global. However, our personal impact on the outcome of a presidential election, unless we live in Florida, is very small. In the last presidential race, there were around 105 million votes. In the last City Council race, there were around 4,500. So if you could vote 23,000 times in a presidential election — which, by the way, is illegal — then your vote would have the same impact as voting in a local election.

So how does local government affect us? While we can easily see the tangible results of presidential choices — Supreme Court appointments, wars, wasted tax dollars — it is harder to see the results of local politics.

How would you feel if … there were a factory next to your house, there were no fire exits where you sleep, there were no bike paths in Ames, the Arboretum were replaced with apartment buildings, there were more shopping options in the form of a new mall or an expanded downtown, bus rides were made more expensive for students, all buffets (liquor and food) were banned due to health risks, Welch Avenue were a pedestrian mall, property taxes were raised increasing your rent, all traffic lights were timed to slow down traffic, Grand Avenue extended south past Hy-Vee, bikes were illegal on all sidewalks, all couches were banned, indoors and out, and the only living room furniture allowed was a conglomeration of overturned five-gallon buckets?

Although the last possibility is the least likely (and seemingly most uncomfortable when having friends over), the others are real impacts a city council can have on its citizens. Understanding exactly what effects the city can have on our life is the most important part of understanding why we should all vote.

In the first election, on Nov. 4, I came in behind Mary Ann Lundy by a mere 22 votes. Tomorrow, we will all have an opportunity to choose a City Council candidate we feel can turn our hopes for this community into a reality.

I believe that as a recent ISU graduate, the owner of the Gyrostand and a permanent Ames resident, I would be able to represent the entire Ames community in the at-large City Council seat.

More importantly, however, I believe it is our responsibility to take the time necessary on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to cast our votes.