Odd-year municipal elections have traditionally seen embarrassingly low turnouts, sometimes as low as 25 percent of registered voters.
This one portends a break from tradition.
With highly contentious races for a number of local offices and a referendum question in the City of Warren that would force an amendment to the city's charter, interest in casting ballots should be high.
Of course, it should always be high, whether or not we are arguing and chewing over controversial subjects.
Tomorrow will be your opportunity to express yourself directly to the government entities that affect your life most directly. It is local government - your township, your borough, your city, your school board - that fixes your streets, educate your children, enact the zoning laws that paint the picture you recognize as your neighborhood.
We will not pretend to tell you who or what to vote for. We have confidence in the democratic system that has served us all so well for more than 200 years. Yes, there have been missteps along the way, but over the long haul the voting booth has made this nation the model for democracy around the world.
And, it all starts here, at the lowest levels of government with the highest impact on our daily lives.
The polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and remain open until 8 p.m. We believe that spending five minutes or so in front of a touch-screen isn't a significant drain on one's schedule for such an important task.