A marked decline in voter turnout occurs when it’s not a presidential election year.

It’s too bad, because the people you are voting for, or rather, not voting for, when you ignore a midterm election at the state level are the ones that will more likely affect your life.

The way your children are educated, the way your taxes are set and spent, the way your highways are built and repaired, in other words, most elements of your daily lives are affected in a big way by those who are running state government.

A lot of people run things in this state – we have the biggest stae legislature in the country. So that means there’s a lot to know.

It’s not an easy task, studying the candidates and the issues, trying to make the best choices for representatives who will guide the state in the direction each of us would like.

But if you don’t do it, if you don’t read the newspapers and candidate literature, if you don’t think about what those running stand for and how their views might affect you and your family, and most of all, if you don’t vote on Nov. 7, you’ve given up your voice.

So, don’t give it up.

Be part of the big picture that directs all the small ones.

— Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski, Managing Editor Christine Heiser and News Editor Susan Clark.