Tuesday is Election Day and will be my first time to vote in Warren County, Mississippi.

During the primaries, voter turnout was low with fewer than 30 percent of registered voters going to the polls. I did not participate myself because I had not registered yet.

Some people’s frame of mind is that primaries don’t matter as much as the general election, but the primary election determines who will be on the general election ballot making them a pretty important step in putting the local and statewide government in place.

Other people may not see the importance of local elections, opting to vote only in the presidential race. Local and state government are very important to our daily lives. Paying attention to the legislation passed and the people in power to do so will dictate our future for years to come.

Then there are those who swear off voting all together because they don’t believe their voice will be heard.

While it is understandable to be down on the voting system, we should be proud of the fact that we get the right to vote. A lot of people have died for that right and we were fortunate enough to be born with the privilege.

We can’t complain the way we all like if we don’t at least try to do something about the outcome.

There really is little excuse to miss an election with absentee voting open and available, even on Saturdays, to accommodate a larger amount of people.

Plenty of women fought for my right to vote. I’m going to choose to use that right for those who weren’t able to and hopefully help give Warren County and Mississippi the leadership it needs. I hope you do too.

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Alana Norris is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at alana.norris@vicksburgpost.com