You’ve heard it before. College kids don’t vote. Political pundits say we’re among the least important demographics in every election cycle, from the national to the county level. The simple truth is that we don’t show up at the polls.

But that’s not the way it should be.

There’s a reason the current slate of presidential candidates have been campaigning for a year — this fall’s election is important.

But why?

Well, for one thing, the next presidential administration will probably be the first of your post-college life. That means that the next time you vote, you could have kids, a mortgage and a dog. For your near-future-self’s sake, you should pay attention. For several very good reasons, this is a critical moment in both our lives and the life of our nation.

Most of us want to be employed when we graduate, but in order for that to happen, we need to have a good economy. We need to listen to what the presidential hopefuls have to say about how they’re going to create and keep white-collar American jobs.

If climate change is something you care about, you know that the sooner we address it, the better. Different candidates say different things about how to encourage the quest for alternative fuels, transportation and energy.

And whether we care or not, we’re going to have a new president with new ideas, in the White House about this time next year.

Now — not November — is the time to pay attention. That’s when we vote. This is the primary and caucus season, the time when we get to choose who gets the Democratic and Republican nominations.

In exactly a month, on Feb. 9, Washington state will be holding its Republican and Democratic caucuses to select its delegates to the two parties’ respective national conventions. Caucuses are held in your local community and are open to all registered voters. This is our democracy in action. Caucus-goers will essentially pick who represents our state at the national level.

And if you think your voice doesn’t count, think again.

In the 2004 Washington governor’s race, Dino Rossi lost to Christine Gregoire by a measly 133 votes. That’s fewer voters than can be found in some of our classes, especially if you’re in one of those large Kane lecture courses. Every ballot makes a difference.

All the presidential candidates know this and are working hard to reach out to you on the Internet, either through their personal campaign Web sites, on Facebook, YouTube or through guys such as Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

The two men who won the recent Iowa caucuses, Sen. Barack Obama (D - Ill.) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R - Ark.), won the youth vote. According the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a nonpartisan think tank, the youth turnout in Iowa rose to 13 percent in 2008 from 4 percent in 2004 for voters 17 to 29 years old. About 65,000 youth showed up to caucus, with 57 percent of the Democrats voting for Obama and 40 percent for Huckabee, more than any other candidate.

Soon, it’ll be our state’s turn. Let’s start caring now — not later. After all, we can’t complain about which candidates we get to choose from this fall if we don’t help pick them this winter.

Let’s rock the vote.