The polls are open, with early voting opportunities beginning this past Saturday at the Government Center in Monticello.

Election 2021, which in this county boasts no contested countywide elections, might not excite you as much as 2020 when we were voting in a Presidential race, as well as for a US and NY congressional race and state senate race, or in 2019, when all nine county legislature seats were up for grabs.

However, you should still make it to the polls and weigh-in on you town’s elections, which we could argue are equally as important in your everyday life as the larger scale races previously mentioned.

In fact, in recent years zoning issues, new housing developments, increased fees for water and sewer service as well as local infrastructure plans have all made front page news in our newspaper and all started at the township level. Local does matter and it affects things we use and see every day.

This year we have several councilmen races, and there is a choice for supervisor in seven of our county’s 15 townships.

While we hope there is no crisis locally, like polluted water or soil or possibly increases to your tax bill, you won’t know unless you stay engaged, informed and hold your elected representatives accountable at the polls.
Even more to think about

There are also several propositions to be voted on in this election.

Do you know about them? Mamakating voters have a proposition on their ballot to “opt out” of allowing On-Site Cannabis Consumption Establishments.

Certainly a big issue you need to know about if you live in the township.

We also had an article explaining the five state-wide propositions on this year’s ballot and none of them will receive our endorsement for approval. But we urge all of our readers to take the time to read about them – the full text and explanation of them appeared on page 6B of our October 15 issue.

Taking time to inform yourself on the issues is important, and sadly something many people don’t do.
While you can’t force anyone to do their due diligence before heading to the polls, the staff of the Democrat has strived to give readers the information they need to know to make informed decisions.

In addition to the article and full page Legal Notice on the five state-wide propositions, we have been writing news stories on supervisor candidates in all the contested races, which will continue through Friday, October 29.

Three supervisor candidates have not gotten back to us, but we will continue to give them an opportunity to respond.

We have also been running candidate statements where they can speak directly to you, the voters, and many letters from your peers weighing in on these races.

We implore you to do your research, and please, go vote.

Open and free elections are a privilege we’re blessed to have. Sadly, many residents don’t take the time to go to the polls to register their vote.

Every vote really does count.