Today marks the halfway point from the opening day of absentee voting — often called early voting — until the eve of this year’s general election, Nov. 3.

If history and current numbers are any indication, Ohioans will not flock to the polls in any greater numbers than in years past.

According to figures from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, fewer than half of the registered electors cast a ballot four years ago — the same election cycle we’re on this fall — when dozens of candidates for mayors, members of councils and school boards and numerous important municipal issues fill local ballots.

If fact, you’d have to go back to 1991 to find a year when even half of the eligible voters cast a ballot. (This is going backward over the same four-year election cycle; in presidential years, turnout has averaged about 70 percent.)

Why do so few people take the time to do something so important to our democracy? …

More than ever amid a country politically divided and polarized, the citizens must be heard. In a democracy, nothing sends a louder message than participation.

Get out and vote.

— The (Canton) Repository