Today you can exercise your political freedoms or give up your right to bitch about how the state is run. In other words, today is Election Day, and although it is only the primaries, it will influence how the next four years will play out.

While there are many names on the ballot, the process is not as daunting as one might think. In Wisconsin primaries, you may only vote for candidates from one party; you may not mix and match or your vote will not count. Voters have to declare their party preference on the ballot and stay true to it. In this way, only the candidate who receives the most votes from their party will be on the final ballot on November 2.

As for what positions are being vied for, this primary will narrow the field of candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. senator. Also up for grabs are seats in the House of Representatives and the State Assembly.

Among the high-profile races, Democrats Tim John and Tom Barret are fighting for Governor, along with Republicans Scott Paterick, Mark Neumann and Scott Walker. In the Lt. Governor’s race those numbers are nearly doubled, with four Democrats (James Schneider, Tom Nelson, Spencer Coggs and Henry Sanders) and five Republicans (Robert Gerald Lorge, Dave Ross, Nick Voegeli, Brett Davis and Rebecca Kleefisch) hoping to make the final ballot.

In the Senate race, Democrat Russ Feingold is guaranteed a seat, and Republicans Stephen Fin, Dave Westlake and Ron Johnson are duking it out for the other. For the Congressional race, Democrat and incumbent Tammy Baldwin is running unopposed in her party, and Republicans Chad Lee and Peter Theron are each hoping to be her successor.

Many students on campus live in the 77th district of the State Assembly, where five Democrats are battling over who will run against the lone Republican and the two Independents. The Democrats running are John Imes, Doug Zwank, Dianne Hesselbein, Fred Wade and Brett Hulsey, and they each want your vote.

Among these candidates are the people who will govern the state for the next four years. Although certain students may not think much of politics, the winners of the vote on November 2 will make decisions that will affect all of us. For this reason, it is important to make an informed decision when voting.

Do some research into what candidates are promising to do and what their values are. If you agree with their platform, vote for them. If you know nothing about the candidates, don’t vote. Arbitrarily filling in bubbles at the polls makes you no better than someone who chose not to vote at all. Do your fellow students a favor, and become an educated part of the political process. The polls are open all day: do some Googling and get there.