You know something is wrong with the way elections work when you haven’t even had the chance to vote and you’re already disappointed.

That’s how I feel right now. We are more than a year away from Election Day in November of 2012, and the presidential campaigns are well underway.

While there are several Republican candidates running for their party’s nomination, only some of them have enough capital and support to show up in the news, the polls and the Republican debates.

Only two are seriously considered by pundits and politicians.

Now, if you live anywhere that doesn’t take part in the straw polls or early primary elections (like Texas), this could be potentially frustrating.

Take me, for example. I thought Tim Pawlenty was an interesting candidate and I wanted to see where his campaign would go. Did I get to put my voice out there where it mattered?

Where it mattered was at a straw poll in Iowa. I don’t live in Iowa, so my voice was not heard.

Now, he has withdrawn his campaign because he didn’t place high enough at a straw poll where 16,892 people voted. That’s right. Around 0.0000542 percent of America’s population did not deem Pawlenty a viable candidate, thus forcing him to quit running.

I think it’s fairly obvious that the way campaigns operate today is something that needs to be fixed, and quickly. That is the reason I decided to look into a very promising organization called Americans Elect.

In short, the goal of Americans Elect is simple: to provide a second avenue for the nomination of a presidential candidate.

To this end, Americans Elect has established a web site in which any voter can join and become a delegate. As delegates, members can shape the issues being discussed, nominate potential candidates, field questions to the candidates, and, in June of 2012 during an online convention, delegates will be able to directly vote for a candidate that will appear on the ballot in all 50 states.

The best part about the process is that it is all-inclusive. This organization doesn’t just ask a few people in a few battleground states. Instead, the voices of the American people in every state will be heard.

That is why I decided to not only join Americans Elect, but also to become the Campus Leader for SMU. If you want to learn more about this historic opportunity or want to join the Americans Elect convention, feel free to send me an e-mail at [email protected] or check out www.americanselect.org/smu.

Let your voice be heard during the 2012 campaign season and take part in an historic movement to give the American people another way to nominate a president.

Joshua Union is a junior majoring in business management He can be reached for comment at [email protected]