In less than two weeks, voters will decide everything from who holds the highest office in the land to whether longtime school levies will be renewed.

The social media cacophony may fool some into believing there will be hordes of voters headed to the polls, but past voter turnout figures suggest that may not be the case. According to figures from the secretaries of state on both sides of the Ohio River, during the 2022 general election in West Virginia, voter turnout was 42.91%. Back in 2020, however, voter turnout was 63.24%. In Ohio, 2022 general election turnout was 52.32%. For the 2020 general election it was a relatively impressive 73.99%.

If we use the higher turnout rates in 2020, then, 63.24% of the 1,201,724 voters who were registered in West Virginia as of September 2024 would be approximately 759,970 ballots cast. In Ohio, 73.99% of the 8,056,174 registered voters would be approximately 5.96 million ballots cast. Estimates so far are that more than 660,000 have already voted in Ohio this time around.

It is important for as many voters as possible to make their voices heard on those big national decisions, yes. But it is even more important that voter turnout be high for the local decisions.

While all the noise may make the national-level decisions feel more important, when it comes to what will affect you, your family and your community, the local and county decisions will have the greatest impact.

Do not let those decisions be made by a tiny percentage of eligible voters. Do not wake up the morning of Nov. 6 to the regret that your vote might have made the difference in a local district race.

Early in-person voting began in Ohio earlier this month. It begins in West Virginia today. Being preoccupied on Nov. 5 is no excuse for not casting a ballot.

What you have posted, written about or discussed at home means nothing if you do not vote.

Get out, and get it done.