Voting is especially important in local races, like Sharon Township and Manchester schools

Did you pick up your sticker
today?

I've always been taught that voting is just something you do as a citizen. I remember the first time I voted, and it felt kind of cool to do it. Today, voting still felt just as cool, even though it was not in the usual spot for me (I casted a ballot in Clinton this morning, the first time I've done so away from my hometown).

These local races many residents are voting on today are perhaps the most important ones they'll vote on. Presidential and gubernatorial races have all the glamour, but it's these city council and school board elections that determine more of your daily life than what Barack Obama does in the White House.

Be sure you head to the polls and vote today. There's a contested race for two seats on the Manchester school board, and there's an uncontested race in Sharon Township for two seats on the board, stemming from the recall election in August (if you think not voting in an uncontested race is an okay thing to do, reflect on what I wrote here a few months ago about that very issue. I hope you'll look at it differently).

There still is time to go to the polls today, they're open until 8 p.m. So go pick up your sticker and wear it the rest of the day.

When voting still matters, even if every candidate is a shoo-in

This was the scene most of the day in the village room Tuesday.

It's always been something that's been engrained in me since I was in school: vote, vote, vote and yes, don't forget to vote. Your voice is important.

That's why it was slightly stunning to see only eight ballots cast in the Manchester village elections Tuesday when I stopped by the polling place at 12:30 p.m. in the village hall.

Sure, there were only four candidates running for four slots in an election in September, but surely more than eight folks would turn up before noon, right?

Many will say, "what does it matter? Those four people are going to get elected anyway" and not show up to vote. To a degree, this makes sense for all of us, and I might have done the same before. But my thinking has changed.

Here's an interesting tale to put things in perspective: a woman in Burton, a suburb of Flint, ran for the lone spot on the Bentley school board in May. She was a write-in candidate for one of two spots, and was the only other eligible candidate. In other words, one vote for her would win.

But she didn't win. She failed to have one person vote for her, including herself that day.

She told The Flint Journal she was at her son's baseball game, and couldn't make it to the polls.

“I (thought I) would have gotten a vote,” she told The Journal. “I had plenty of people I know that would have gone up there and voted.”

Because of remembering this incident and seeing the low vote total in the afternoon, I asked Village Clerk Julie Schaible Tuesday afternoon what would happen if someone, for some reason, didn't get a vote. She was not completely sure how it would be handled, understandably so. It's not like this happens all the time.

Thankfully, no such incident happened. All four candidates received at least one vote, and they'll be sworn in on Oct. 3. But it does put things in perspective: just because someone is a shoo-in for a seat doesn't always mean they'll get voted in. Which is why that old cliche, "every vote counts" still rings true today.