As we begin the month of September and say goodbye to summer, much of our attention over the next few months will be focused on a prospect that many are dreading: the Nov. 5 general election.

While many of us feel as if election season, particularly when president is on the ballot, can drag on forever and ever, a large portion of the voting public is just starting to pay attention and learn about the many candidates and proposals that they will be making decisions on Nov. 5.

It may be hard to believe that there is anyone out there still undecided on the presidential election, but polling indicates that at anywhere between 7% to 10% of the electorate is still deciding who to choose at the top of the ticket.

While there is no shortage of information (and misinformation) out there about the two major party candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democrats and former President Donald Trump on the Republican side — an upcoming debate between the two candidate could go a long way in deciding the race. The debate, hosted by ABC, is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern time Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When it comes to down ballot races, which are arguably more important than the race for the White House, there is a lot of information to learn about candidates and proposals that the average voter might not be as familiar with.

While November can seem like an eternity from now, it will be here before you know it. We highly recommend starting your research now.

There are plenty of great resources online to find unbiased information that can help you make informed decisions in the ballot box.

The Michigan Voter Information Center and vote411 are both easy to use and informative websites that have a comprehensive overview of what is on your individual ballot but also feature possibly the most important information of each election season: how to register to vote.

We highly recommend that the first thing you do is to make sure that you are registered to vote. You can do so by going to the MVIC at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/ or vote411 at www.vote411.org.