What if they held an election and nobody came?

Turnout was dismal on Thursday, the first day of early voting in Richmond County’s municipal contests. In the first six hours, only eight ballots had been cast at the Richmond County Cooperative Extension office.

Two belonged to the poll workers, making for an average of one visitor per hour.

While the 2016 presidential race, a congressional committee’s grilling of Hillary Clinton over the Benghazi terror attack and Rep. Paul Ryan’s near-certain ascendancy to speaker of the House steal the spotlight, the election happening here in Richmond County will have a far greater impact on our daily lives.

City councils and town boards set the policies that affect us where we live and work. They can raise or reduce our property taxes, shape our communities through zoning rules, expand recreational opportunities for our families and attract or rebuff business and industry.

Make no mistake, these elections are important. Even when only one candidate is seeking office.

Mayors in Rockingham, Hamlet, Ellerbe, Hoffman and Norman are all running unopposed, as are town council members in Rockingham, Norman and Hoffman.

Residents who think that leaves them without a choice are mistaken. In local elections, there’s always the prospect of a write-in candidate garnering significant last-minute support.

Voters can also choose to leave some ballot bubbles blank, either to signify a lack of confidence in an unopposed candidate or to abstain from weighing in on a contest about which they feel uninformed.

Undervotes — the discrepancy between the total number of ballots cast and the number of votes for a candidate — send a message of unfamiliarity or discontent. Low turnout only conveys disinterest and apathy.

Those who believe current leaders have performed well and have the town’s best interests at heart can and should vote to voice their support even when their chosen candidates have no listed opponent.

Voters in Hamlet, where four hopefuls are vying for three council seats, and Ellerbe, where three candidates are seeking two slots, have important choices to make.

There are plenty of opportunities to make your voice heard. Early voting runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Cooperative Extension office on Caroline Street.

There’s also a 12-hour window to vote Nov. 3 on Election Day at your designated city or town precinct.

Richmond County can do better than six visiting voters in six hours. Let’s pick up the pace and take an active role in electing those who will represent us on the local level.

“If you choose not to decide,” Rush’s Geddy Lee sings in “Free Will,” “you still have made a choice.”

Voter apathy is a choice we don’t want to see Richmond County make.

Melonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Voting booths stand empty at the Richmond County Cooperative Extension office on Thursday, the first day of early voting for Richmond County’s Nov. 3 municipal elections.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4700.jpgMelonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Voting booths stand empty at the Richmond County Cooperative Extension office on Thursday, the first day of early voting for Richmond County’s Nov. 3 municipal elections.

A Daily Journal editorial