In the next two weeks, 25 states and territories will hold primary election contests, including 17 on Super Tuesday. Almost half of the country will cast its preferences for presidential candidates and, perhaps even more importantly, each office below that. Yet, every day, I hear people complain about their options on the ballot and even pledge not to vote because of them.

I get it, I do. I don’t really want to vote for another old white man, either. But the 2024 primary elections will not only determine if we are facing déjà vu of the 2020 general presidential election, they will also decide the major party candidates for every single seat in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate. The makeup of Congress has a huge impact on how effective the government can be in a given term.

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Currently, we have a divided government, meaning that while Democrats control the executive branch and the Senate, the House has a Republican majority. Our current congress, the 118th, has been one of the least effective in recent United States history as a result of this divided government and because of GOP infighting in the House. The candidates we elect to represent our two major parties in the November general elections will matter.

Democrats had a very sweet Valentine’s Day, with former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi winning the New York Third Congressional District Special Election to fill former Republican Rep. George Santos’ seat, narrowing the razor-thin GOP majority in the House to only six votes. With many Americans disillusioned with both major parties, changing this balance of power doesn’t seem like enough to convince everyone to vote — but it should be.

According to Gallup, 45% of Americans identify as political independents as of January 2024, but only three members of Congress belong to a party other than Democratic or Republican. Yet, despite claiming independence from the shackles of party affiliations, Gallup found only 10% of independents’ votes actually do not align with either major party. 

While third party candidates are an option, we must recognize their limitations. Candidates running as Republicans and Democrats have the support of those parties in getting on the ballot, raising money for their campaigns to be viable and the simple advantage of an affiliated base of voters. 

When independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016, he ran as a Democrat. While he didn’t win, he managed to pull the Democratic party platform further to the left.

Political parties are not stagnant: We have all witnessed the Republican party move further right in recent years and drag the Democratic party along with it in some respects (the most recent bipartisan attempt at immigration reform speaks for itself). But we have also seen record levels of diversity in Congress, and now is not the time to stop fighting for improvement.

By voting for candidates in the primaries who reflect our personal beliefs more than the two major parties as a whole do, we have the power to change those parties. The issues that are important to political parties are shaped by their voters, and choosing not to vote means the issues most important to you will likely continue to be ignored. 

Not voting does not make the political statement you think it does: At least a third of the electorate already doesn’t vote. The 2020 elections had the highest voter turnout in a U.S. national election since 1900, and it was only 66%. In primary elections, turnout is even worse: Almost 80% of eligible voters don’t participate in choosing our general election candidates — so they shouldn’t complain when it’s slim pickings.

Whether you prefer a long-shot third-party candidate, a leftist running on a Democratic ticket or a moderate conservative running in the increasingly extremist Republican party, hating the U.S. political establishment is not a reason not to vote. We need to tell politicians what we want from them, not just that we are unsatisfied with the status quo.

In the words of feminist activist and The New York Times contributing opinion writer Roxane Gay, “Voting isn’t dating. We are not promised perfect candidates. Voting requires pragmatism and critical thinking and empathy and now, more than ever, intelligent compromise.”

Kate McQuarrie is a senior writing about the 2024 election cycle as it unfolds. She is also an opinion editor at the Daily Trojan. Her column, “The Ballot Box,” runs every other Thursday.