Everyone knows what we’re going to say in the edition just before an election like Tuesday’s: Get out and exercise your right to vote. And everyone is right: That is what we’re saying. Because it’s important. Maybe now more than ever.

We’re not going to go back down the already traveled road of divided-America-this, or vote-or-don’t-complain-that. Primarily because, at the end of the day, you all know these things. No matter what is said about us as a country, one stereotype that is certainly not true is that Americans don’t understand, or care, about the issues. We do both and in serious fashion.

And there’s plenty of evidence to that end. If you’ve been paying attention to our coverage over the last several months – on both the front page and here on the opinion page – you know we’ve thrown a bunch of statistics at you about how and when Mississippi voters turnout for elections. And they are interesting numbers that make a lot of sense and tell a story. The crux of that story is that voters in the Magnolia State, in Warren County, and all the way down to the River City, care about the people and topics on the ballots.

So, we aren’t going to hit you over the head with what’s at stake Tuesday when you head to the polls to vote for everything from a local school board seat to the next commander in chief of our country. We will say this, though: Numbers don’t lie and they show we come out in droves when races really matter. Guess what? This one really matters, folks.