On Tuesday, Nov. 3, citizens in Baldwin County will elect their representative to the Georgia House of Representatives. At the same time, Milledgeville residents will vote for mayor and City Council members. They are elections we should not take lightly.

Our area has been badly hit by job cuts, layoffs, furloughs and industry and state government closings. Our pain has been in both the public and private sectors. It has not been an easy few years for many of our residents, and that is why it is so important to cast your vote this coming Tuesday. We need to elect those who will fight for new jobs for the community.

We also need to elect people who are deeply concerned about education and health care. Those are thorny issues, but they are vital to the ongoing progress of a stable democracy and a humane society. Do you know where the candidates stand on these and other related issues? If not, educate yourself before next Tuesday. The information has been made public for all to see, digest and reflect upon.

Keep those, and other, concerns in mind as you head to the polls. In local elections, your voice is more powerful than at any time. Since all politics tend to be local, you should be more aware of how such elections affect your daily life and that of the community. Don’t sit home and let others who vote make crucial decisions about your life and those you care about.

Some political pundits say we will be lucky to break a 10 percent turnout on election day. That would indeed be a pathetic circumstance for a society that presumably prizes democratic involvement. Let’s prove the critics wrong. Our region’s future is in the hands of those who vote.

Wednesday, Milledgeville will have a new state representative for the first time in three decades, heading to the Gold Dome in January to fight for jobs and make the tough decisions that could make or break this state’s economy. The landscape of City Council will possibly have changed, and we’ll know who will play an instrumental role in selecting the city’s next city manager.

The issues facing us are too great and the ramifications are too serious, yet the turnout for early voting has been light during the past couple of weeks. Don’t squander your opportunity to participate in determining that future — and giving it a chance to spiral upward instead of downward. Will we return to a declining past or head in progressive directions? An inactive voting public will not get the job done. Active citizens can.

You make the call.