In the 2004 presidential election, Bush beat Kerry by 3 million votes nationwide. In 2000, Gore beat Bush in the national vote by 500,000 votes.

There are over 10 million healthcare professionals and workers in the United States.

We at Healthcare United have been gathering information on voter registration for healthcare professionals and workers across the country. We don't know about everybody, but according to our data, one out of every four healthcare professionals and workers is not registered to vote. That means that even if you are registered to vote, chances are that many of your colleagues are not.

We've all heard about those spots in the country that seem to determine every election outcome - who can forget Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in Florida? -- but the truth is that in "battleground" or "swing" states, elections are regularly decided by just a few thousand votes. Kerry won Wisconsin by 11,000 votes; Bush won New Mexico by just under 6,000 votes.

In each of these states, there are thousands or tens of thousands of nurses, doctors and caregivers who are not registered to vote. If everybody registers, we will have the power to speak in the election in one voice. If we want to stand up for quality patient care and a fair and equitable healthcare system, we have to accept that this is our moment in history to make our voices heard.

If you are not yet registered to vote, click here to sign up ASAP. And if you are registered, chances are you work with people who are not - so click here to get them on board.