Thank you to all involved in primary election

Elections are as American as apple pie and baseball.

Choosing our leaders — from president down to town council — puts the power in the people’s hands. We decide who represents us, giving rise to a phrase we all know — government of the people, for the people, by the people.

The Aug. 6 voting was the most recent example of this American institution, and a few things stood out.

A lot of people stepped forward to serve. Up and down the ballot, from statewide office, to legislative seats, to county-level positions, dozens of candidates threw their hat in the metaphorical ring.

Especially on the Republican side of the primary voting, many candidates for statewide office won with far less than a majority of the overall vote, indicating support for a number of popular candidates.

That was also true of county-level candidates in Southeast Missouri.

In Cape Girardeau County, for example, a county commission candidate won the primary with just more than 25% of the vote in a five-person race. The winning coroner candidate earned 31% of the vote against five other candidates.

It is heartening to see that many good candidates running for office. It’s healthy for our democracy, and to all those who put their hat in the ring, thank you. We know it's not easy.

Finally, as we have become accustomed to, the elections in this area came off without a hitch.

County clerks in this region — including Kara Clark Summers in Cape County, Jared Kutz in Perry County, Allen Seabaugh in Scott County and Brittany Howard in Bollinger County — run efficient, secure elections each time voters go to the polls, and this election was no exception. A big thank you also goes to their staffs and all the volunteers that make elections possible.

Because of their work, we can have confidence that every vote counts and the results are accurate.

One final pat on the back goes to the voters.

Participating in our democracy is the most American thing we can do. Some call it a “duty”. We like to think of it as a well-defended privilege. One we take seriously and hope everyone else does, too.