By LaToya Irby

As much as I love to debate about the election, I think it’s past time for a public service announcement about voting.

Every registered voter should hit the polls on Tuesday. No excuse. I should have been encouraging you to register to vote, but I missed that bus. I haven’t missed this one.

There is power in voting. Think about it: You have the power to choose who will lead this country for the next four years.

Tuesday’s election isn’t just about electing the president, as Andrew demonstrated. Some states will be electing other official positions, like Supreme Court judges. Other states will approve or reject proposed amendments to their state constitutions. For example, California’s voting on the controversial Proposition 8 which would eliminate same-sex marriages. Find out what’s on your state’s ballot at Ballotpedia.org.

You should vote because odds are, you didn’t always have the right to vote. Many people take the right to vote for granted, but those rights didn’t come easily for everyone. When this country was founded, only a certain demographic of people could vote – white men who owned property. Other than that, no one could vote – American citizen or not.

In 1850, the property and tax requirements were lifted and most white men were able to vote.

In 1870, the 15th amendment gave all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of race.

Shortly after ratification of the 15th amendment, states started implementing poll taxes and literacy tests that prevented many from voting. Some states, put in grandfather clauses excluding those who could vote before 1870 from the poll taxes and literacy tests.

Women gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 19th amendment was added to the constitution.

Male and female Native Americans couldn’t vote until 1924 when they became citizens of the United States.

It was not until 1975 that all Mexican Americans gained the right to vote.

In 1971, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 with the 26th amendment.

Even though several amendments to the U.S. constitution gave American citizens the right to vote, many of them still couldn’t because of literacy tests, poll taxes, nondisclosure of poll locations, and threats of violence. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated many of these voting traps, making it easier for all American citizens to vote.

Still, some voters stay away from the polls because they don’t realize just how much their single vote matters.

Here are a few one vote wonders from the Vermont Secretary of State website:

In 1845, two votes made Texas a state. One of those votes came from Senator Edward Hannigan from Illinois who was elected in 1884 by a single vote from Indiana state senator David Kelso (senators used to be elected by the state senate). David Kelso was elected in 1844 by a farmer named Freeman Clark who’d barely made it to the polls to vote and passed away on the way back.

In 1850, one vote made California a state.

In 1859, one vote made Oregon a state.

In 1889, one vote made Washington a state.

In 1890, one vote made Idaho a state.

In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives enacted a law banning specific classes of assault weapons. The vote was initially tied but one member changed his vote to approve the ban.

See a list of 33 instances where one vote made a difference at the Learn USA article "The Importance of One Vote."

If you cast it, it will count. Vote on Tuesday.

This week's previous posts (most recent first): Why John McCain's Election Matters, Accepting Personal Responsibility