By Bryan Hanks

It’s Election Day … so go do your duty.

I’m not going to try to guilt you into action as some do on this day. We know our forefathers sacrificed mightily to give us the right to vote. Some died for this right. If you don’t exercise your right, it’s on you.

Also remember this: women weren’t allowed to vote in our country until the 1920s – less than 100 years ago. African-Americans and minorities were unable to cast their vote (or “discouraged” by other means) until the 1950s and 1960s. Heck, that discouragement still continues today in some areas of our country.

If you haven’t participated in early voting yet, don’t fret – I am just like you in that sense. I know we’ve had two weeks of no-excuse early voting, but I’m always been of the mind that I enjoy waiting until the last moment to cast my vote, so I see how the candidates react all the way up to Election Day.

Honestly, there are still a couple of races and issues of which I haven’t entirely made my mind up. I’ve done my research and I’ve talked to many of the candidates personally, but it’s likely I will walk behind the voting machine today and make the decision(s) at the last moment.

While I am going to encourage you to vote, I will also encourage you not to vote if you haven’t done your homework. If you are so uninformed that you are allowing someone else to tell you how to vote, you are doing this great country a disservice by being someone else’s rubber stamp.

That’s why what we’ve done what we’ve done here at Neuse News during this election season – we’ve done our best to educate you in a fair and even manner of the candidates and issues you’ll see on your ballot today. You can watch videos and read stories about every candidate and issue in Lenoir, Greene and Jones County by searching “Election 2018” at NeuseNews.com.

Also, please be sure to join us at 8:30 p.m. today for our election special on our Facebook page. Neuse News Publisher B.J. Murphy, Junious Smith III and I – along with a cast that includes Aleatha Thrower, Travis Towne, Jon Dawson, Matt Lococo and others – will bring you up-to-the-minute updates from all the races tonight.

So … go vote! See you on the internet tonight.