Today at 3 p.m. early voting will end, leaving only Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, for those who haven’t yet done so to cast their ballot.
We urge you to do so.
This election, like every election held in the United States of America — and right here in our own back yard — is a critical one.
Right now, in Sampson County, as of Friday at 2 p.m., almost 18,000 people had cast ballots at one of three early voting locations, showing we are poised to at least come close, if not exceed, the just over 20,000 locals who came out in 2020. That’s a good sign for sure, because no matter who one might vote for, the important thing is that we exercise our right to make that choice.
Those numbers show the great interest in the presidential and gubernatorial races, but also the locally contested ones — a state House race between incumbent William Brisson and newcomer Sampson resident Josh Harrell, as well as the Dist. 4 county commissioner race between incumbent Lethia Lee and last-minute write-in candidate and Sampson firefighter Foy Jenkins.
It is also a sign of a well-functioning democratic system, and despite the radicalism of fringe elements on the left and the right, the overwhelming majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree that the only place to settle their often-profound differences is in the voting booth.
We are thrilled to see so many people take ownership in this election and its outcome, and we hope, when the dust settles after the polls close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night, that the results, whatever they might be in each and every race, will be accepted without unnecessary discourse that will only serve to divide an already divided country.
The vast majority of Americans have faith in our system, as it should. The vast majority of us know that boards of election staff are our friends and neighbors and work hard to provide the fairest election possible. And while there can be, and are, times when fraud seeps in, the majority of us, as Americans, have faith that our system will identify and weed out any fraudulent votes that may be uncovered. That system works according to the rule of law, not according to frantic partisan allegations.
We believe that, despite the often heated and sometimes irresponsible rhetoric, justice will prevail and the winners of this election will be clear and undisputed by the overwhelming majority of Americans, regardless of party affiliation. And we will once again realize, as Abraham Lincoln so famously said at the close of our nation’s bitterest struggle, “We must not be enemies.” And that, “Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
So today, with just hours left for early voting, and only one more day to vote, we hope citizens will be guided by their intelligence, their common sense and their spirit of democracy, selecting those they think will preserve and protect the rights our forefathers afforded all of us so long ago.
The choices we make will matter. The fact that we might stay home and let someone else make decisions for us will matter. The fact that we might let someone else choose which candidates to vote for will matter. The fact that we might allow foreign bots and election trolls to sway our decisions will matter.
In the end, it is just each of us deciding to be a part of the democratic process or choosing to sit on the sidelines.
We hope, if you haven’t already, that you choose the former and not the latter. It matters.