Get out the vote campaigns are usually an indicator of how close it is to a major election. There are so many good reasons to become an informed citizen and go and vote for your representatives. However, if you can't be convinced for reasons of self-interest, please think of the others.

In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that 13.1 million non-citizens live legally in the United States. That's 13.1 million people who live in a country where they cannot choose their own representatives.

On top of that, the United States' place as a leader in international affairs means that decisions made here don't just stop at our borders. Decisions made by American leadership change lives around the world on a daily basis. Every single day, thousands of Americans come into contact with foreign nationals through programs such as the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Program that are federally funded. Worldwide, many people are living in areas where USAID is present and Americans are providing relief.

Americans use current trade laws to purchase objects made in foreign countries. Changes in these laws could have impact on those people in foreign countries who may have moved from the countryside to a factory-filled city to find a better life.

You know that University of Texas slogan that they used on their commercials? It is actually true on election day in the United States: what starts here changes the world.

Please vote in the presidential primary and the election in November.

If you live in Oklahoma and you know you'll be busy on November 18, apply for an absentee ballot here or consider voting early.

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Title photo: pre-1959 flag from Unsplash