As we approach the General Election 50 days from today, one of the most important things we can do as individuals is to look at each candidate rather than simply aligning with the party next to the candidate’s name.

All too often, we see or hear from someone who didn’t vote for a candidate simply because of his or her party affiliation, and we must move away from that.

We must start electing our leaders based on merit, ideas, values and their records if we, as voters, want what is truly best for our communities, counties, states and country.

Since 2008, the highest approval rating for Congress was 39 percent and has steadily declined through the years. However, in that same period, we have re-elected those same members at an 88 percent clip. Something simply doesn’t jive.

In order to get results and make our country prosperous again, we must hold our elected officials accountable, from the President to congress, and the statehouse to those holding local offices.

If we are held to standards at our own jobs, and the same should be true for those who we elect to lead.

There are many factors that lead voters to make a decision, but a party affiliation should never be weighted the most.