Go vote.

If you have not yet voted, take advantage of the last few days of early voting or cast a ballot on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

It is time to choose.

Who will be governor? Who will represent Georgia in the Senate? Who will represent you on the Tift County Commission?

You can participate in making these decisions and other decisions for statewide offices.

The only way elections reflect the will of the people is when the people bother to vote. The fewer people who cast ballots, the less representative government actually is, and that is unfortunate.

So far, people seem to realize their responsibilities and how they can affect who leads and represents Tift County and Georgia in the coming years.

More than 5,000 Tift County voters had cast ballots by early in the third week of early voting.

Traditionally, this is the time when newspaper editorials discuss how one vote can make the difference in a local race.

How there have been times in the past when one vote decided who would take office in a local election.

Now, when a relatively small percentage of votes decide who wins statewide and national offices in Georgia, one vote makes more of a difference than ever.

Your vote could make the difference in a close race at home and throughout Georgia.

That’s what makes democracy work.

Regardless of who you vote for, or who you don’t vote for, voting always matters and our right and privilege to vote in open and free elections should never be taken for granted.

So, vote in the remainder of the early voting period Thursday or Friday, Nov. 3, 4, or on Election Day, Nov. 8.

Make a difference. Be the difference.

Early voting runs 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Friday, through Nov. 4, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 and Oct. 29, at the Tift County Board of Elections office, 222 Chestnut Ave., Building B. For more information or questions, contact Shekia Holley at (229) 386-7915 or shekia.holley@tiftcounty.org.