Voting is a powerful way of letting your voice be heard.

Don’t believe it, just ask one of the seven candidates vying for the Sampson County Clerk of Court’s race — four on the Republican side and three on the Democratic. For them, the primary determines who will actually move on to the general election. The Sampson County Board of Education race, where seven people are seeking to fill four open seats, is another example. In that case, there is no primary, so whoever gets the most votes during the May 8 election will be those chosen to lead the school board and make decisions that will impact your children.

There are also contested primary races for Democratic Sheriff’s candidates and county commissioners, Dist. 5, also Democratic candidates.

To all those running, whether you choose to vote truly matters. It matters to us as well, understanding that the vote you cast — or perhaps more importantly the one you don’t — will help shape the future of this county and, in many cases, the state and nation.

That’s true of every election, including primaries and runoffs, off-year elections and, quite naturally, the presidential race.

There isn’t a time when casting a ballot isn’t the right thing to do.

Allowing your voice to be heard is an American right that should be exercised. While we don’t advocate worshipping our freedoms, we strongly urge using them and doing so in a manner that shows you truly understand the significance of the choices you are making.

There are many viable candidates running for office. In most cases, you know their names, recognize their faces and may even know a thing or two about them. But we urge you to take time to get to know why they are running, what qualifies them to run and how effective you think they would be at the job.

We want people to vote, but we also want them to be informed voters, not merely individuals who arbitrarily mark a ballot or make a choice solely based on what someone else tells them to do. Every individual has a mind of their own, and we urge them to use it and use it wisely as they exercise their very important right to choose leaders.

We want to help you make those informed choices.

Next Tuesday, April 24, The Sampson Independent will give readers an opportunity to get a closer look at those candidates running in contested races. We have carefully chosen questions that we hope, when answered, will give voters a deeper look at the individuals who want to serve our community in some capacity. Through the Q&A articles, we hope you will gain insight that will allow you to make the best choice in each race. Candidates have not been given the questions in advance, something we believe is vitally important. We want those running for office to show us they can think on their feet and that they don’t have to seek input from others. And we want readers to have an open, honest look at the individuals who might very well be our next county commissioner, clerk, school board member or sheriff.

Early voting kicked off Thursday. The primary is May 8. Those registered to vote now have a duty to fulfill, an obligation to meet. We hope you will follow through, educating yourself to those who are running and then casting a ballot for those who you think would best serve us.

Sure it eats into a little of our precious time, but it’s worth every second it takes to go to the Board of Elections, 120 County Complex Road, Suite 110, Clinton between now and May 4, or to one of the county’s polling places come May 8 and cast that ballot.

Please take the time.