Elections are a part of the fabric of our country. And, in two weeks, we’ll celebrate the founding of this place where we have the freedom not only to voice our opinion out loud but also to vote.

Unfortunately, the gravity of elections and the importance of showing up on election day to choose the officials who will make decisions for the rest of the year for us is lost on many people. How many exactly?

Voter turnout is low in primary runoff elections like Tuesday’s vote. In the unofficial results, only 18.51 percent of Limestone County turned out to vote yesterday.

It wasn’t much better in the primary on May 24 either. At 29 percent, Limestone had a slightly higher percentage turnout than the state at 23 percent. But, it’s certainly nothing to be excited about. That means that less than 30 percent of people living in this county are picking who goes to the general ballot to represent all of us.

Many will say if you don’t get out and vote that’s on you. But that’s the point here. Voter turnout need not be so low. Voting is a privilege we have in this country, and it is a civic duty to make your opinion known in this form. So, why do so many not participate?

There is a trend of fewer voters during non-presidential election years. While this in itself is not news, what it shows is a lack of concern among residents for their local representatives, who arguably can make more of a change in their lives directly.

Primaries often have lower turnout than general elections, but an argument could be made that these are even more important in places where voters heavily lean toward one party over the other; this is what generally leads to runoffs, which frequently have the lowest voter turnout of all the elections, like yesterday.

Limestone County can have some pride, for the last five elections that were not special elections, voter turnout outpaced that of the state in primary and runoff elections.

Primary Race Alabama Limestone County 2012 24.4% 32.9 percent 2014 21.6 percent 23.2 percent 2016 41.4 percent 45.49 percent 2018 25.6 percent 26.67 percent 2020 33 percent 34.69 percent It also outpaced the state in general elections in all but 2012.

General Race Alabama Limestone County 2012 73.2 percent 71.39 percent 2014 39.8 percent 47 percent 2016 66.8 percent 69.7 percent 2018 50 percent 53.8 percent 2020 63 percent 69.27 percent But these numbers clearly show that, in years without a presidential election, we need to do better. Barely half of the county gets out in the general election and only a quarter during the primary. If you’re reading this and are a part of the percentage who has voted recently, great. But if you’re not, it’s time to stop wishing things were different in the political system and actually vote like it matters to you.