Every year around this time, we take the opportunity to point out the fact that Election Day is right around the corner, and we extol everyone to exercise their civic duty and vote. We also tend to skip endorsing candidates, and endorse the idea of voting itself.

This year, we do so once again. After the historic national election from last year, it's understandable if people think that there's nothing at stake this time around. Without any races at the state or federal level, most people probably believe that there isn't much reason to make their way to the polls and pull the levers.

This is not the case, however.

In showing why, it's important to look at an important milestone with which this edition's publication coincides: 80 years ago this week, the stock market crashed, bringing with it one of the worst economic crises the nation has ever faced — until, of course, the financial meltdown from fall 2008.

Many historians point to a lack of oversight and regulation on the part of the government as one of the crash's culprits, and yes, history seems to have repeated itself in our most current fiscal fiasco. Over the past year, many people have lamented the regulations the government would impose on industry. But claims that "the market will regulate itself" are disingenuous and self-serving; self-regulation is the same as no regulation. Businesses and politics are no different in this regard.

On Election Day next week, citizens need to fulfill their own duty to act as regulators to ensure democracy functions. Like the stock market, our governments can and will fall apart with far-reaching effects if unwatched. Furthermore, regulation needs to be imposed from the outside — otherwise self-interest rules the day.

Elected officials make claims about having the public good at heart when running for office, and it's very likely this is the case — at the start. But with their ascension to a place of power, politicians can grow complacent or even corrupt if they think no one's watching. The best way to ensure that this never happens is to exercise your right to vote.

When you cast a vote, you're sending a message that you either approve of the job being done, or that you want to bring in someone new. Either way, by not sending that message, politicians are given free-rein to do as they please. Just as voters are the regulators of lawmakers, the laws themselves regulate the voters. This political ecosystem is the most fundamental structure of checks and balances the nation has. Shirking the responsibility of regulating government's officials could have dire consequences — the kind that we might be reminiscing about 80 years hence.