*This column originally was printed in the Monday Feb. 29 edition of The Daily Eastern News

I’ve talked about voting before in columns, but as we get closer and closer to the presidential election, it becomes clearer everyday who will get the Republican and Democratic nomination.

I know there are people paying attention and voicing their thoughts on the election on social media, but to those that are not, you need to start paying attention.

This could be one of the most important elections for president.

It’s becoming clear that Donald Trump is going to win the Republican nomination. He just added the Nevada caucus and the South Carolina primary to his list of primary victories.

Hilary Clinton could very well be getting the Democratic nomination as she continues to beat Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. She recently claimed the Nevada caucus and the South Carolina primary.

You might not care right now because you are only a freshman in college, but this election could affect your life in the future.

Are you paying attention to what is going on right now?

The most recent Republican debate was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. It was a match of who could talk louder than others with Trump calling people liars and joke artists.

That is the man who is most likely going to win the Republican nomination.

It almost feels like people aren’t really paying attention to the Democratic nomination as Trump continues to stay in the news with the debates and excessive name calling of other candidates on Twitter.

With an election that will most likely be between Trump and Clinton, some of you may think “Clinton is going to win. There is no way Trump could win this election.”

You may also tell peers, “Did you see that New York Times article last week examining the intolerance of Trump supporters? 20 percent disagreed with the emancipation proclamation. There is no way there are that many people who will vote Trump as President.”

The conversation may not have happened like that word–for-word, you can still see the views that 20 percent of Trump supporters share. While Trump is not telling his supporters to be intolerant, you can see why they may hold these views if you see what Trump does in the news.

While Sanders has been fighting hard to keep up with Clinton in the democratic nomination, like I said earlier, Clinton has a much better shot at winning this election.

Newsday reported that if Trump wins the Republican nomination and faces off against Clinton, Trump will win the 2016 Presidential Election.

The article said a Stony Brook University professor looked at a statistical model to examine the performance of candidates in the primaries and concluded that Trump has 97 percent chance of beating Clinton.

If Trump faces off against Sanders, his chances improve to 99 percent. This is only one news site, but Slate, the Washington Times, and other news outlets have been reporting similar things.

I’m not going to tell you what side to vote for because that’s a decision you should make on your own.

You should be aware of the issues you care about, and research a candidate you like.

Nominations have not finalized, and the Illinois primary is March 15, so if you think your vote doesn’t matter, you’re wrong.

Your vote this year could be a part of one of the most important presidential elections.

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or cepicazo@eiu.edu.