November 8th is Election Day in America.

America, the day has finally arrived. The election that seems to never end; an exhausting election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, filled with insults, twitter wars, too many memes to keep track of, and yet another scandal seemingly every 5 days, is reaching its draw tonight.

It has been a historic election if anything; if Trump wins, he will be the first president in over 60 years to be elected without prior experience in Washington in Congress; as well as the oldest president at 70; if Clinton takes the win, then she shall be the first female president of the United States. Voter turnout as well, has been record breaking, with nearly 40% of all votes coming in early.

Along with voting for our presidential and vice presidential picks, Illinois voters will also be deciding who shall be our Senators (Kirk vs. Duckworth) and Representatives (Dold vs. Schneider), our state senator (Morrison vs. Salzberg) and representatives (Drury vs. Blumenthal), even local Lake County offices.

Now, most of the Forest Scout high school readers, except for a few elder Seniors, are not of age to legally vote. Fortunately or not, we have been limited to participating in our school’s mock election, while eagerly watching online and on tv to see the polls come in and the votes tally.

It’s easy to mock or deride our democratic system after this nasty election, with two candidates sharply dividing Americans, or simply not inspiring any passion in Americans at all. However, today, on November 8th, we must remember and take pride in our democratic republic.

We, the people of the United States, hold the power to claim our future and see it go in the direction we wish. We as Americans have had this right since the day this country was established, and we shall continue to vote and have a say in our freedom and country. Through voting, we will fight for a better tomorrow for ourselves and the people that we love.

So vote today, on Tuesday, November 8th, if at all possible. If not, stay tuned, stay on top of it. (You can watch the live updates of results on basically any news channels or website, including ABC, CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS, among many other live websites such as the New York Times or Buzzfeed).

Good luck, America, and happy Election Day.