Guest Commentary: A thank you to those who participate in elections

Cape Girardeau County just finished one of the most unique elections in our history. To the 17,000-plus voters who braved uncertainty to fulfill their civic duty and vote, thank you.

Every election is a community effort from a group of mostly volunteers who are committed to maintaining our civic integrity. This election was uniquely so. As a county, we are very fortunate to have so many selfless, civic minded individuals committed to a healthy democracy.

Following this extremely extraordinary election, a heartfelt thank you is due to so many. I will undoubtedly miss some, but I will do my best to recognize so many of the special people who helped make this challenging election a smooth process for the voters of Cape Girardeau County.

First off, to the more than 200 volunteers who served as election judges, thank you. These are everyday citizens who are committed to our democratic process; they endured extra training, safety measures and long days to administer our elections. Our elections are reliant on this group of outstanding citizens. (We are always looking for more help. Please contact our office if you can work as an election judge.)

This year, we had additional volunteers who signed up to sanitize polling places. This was a critical part of our effort to hold safe and secure elections. Thank you.

Our election supervisor, county clerk staff and county employees of all departments -- parks, building and grounds, highway department, IT staff, EMA, health department and the commissioners -- all made extra efforts or accommodations to help make this election successful. And our 29 polling places that open their doors with welcoming arms to hold the election.

Our local media outlets helped us spread the word about the election process, absentee voting and mail-in voting opportunities related to COVID-19. Thank you.

The City of Cape, as always, was extremely helpful, but especially so, and a big thank you to the parks director and her staff for quickly providing a golf cart to help transport voters in tricky polling place conditions and to a couple of community members who jumped right in to help.

Elections wouldn't mean much without candidates. To all of the candidates, those who won and those who gave it their all but came up short, thank you. Everyone who puts their name up for an office deserves public thanks for contributing to our civic welfare.

In closing, thank you to my family, and the families of all those who help make Election Day go smoothly. Many late nights and time away from home go into pulling off an election.

We are very blessed to live in a community like Cape Girardeau County with many generous and supportive people who care very much about our democracy.

Kara Clark Summers is the county clerk for Cape Girardeau County.