We are only one week away from the election.

By now, many of you have already cast your ballots.

Thank you.

If you haven’t already cast your ballot and are planning to vote absentee, we urge you to take your ballot to your clerk’s office in person, instead of putting the ballot in the mail. This close to Election Day, there’s a risk of mail delays that could mean your ballot arrives too late to be counted. Many clerks, including the Alpena clerk, have placed secure dropboxes where ballots can be placed even after business hours.

If you are planning to vote in-person, trust — as we do — that our local clerks have taken all of the necessary precautions to keep you safe. And we urge you to do your part by masking up and maintaining social distancing.

If you haven’t already voted, we hope you are studying the candidates and issues carefully, weighing all of the many ways in which your choices could affect not only your life but the lives of your neighbors and other fellow Americans.

Keep an eye out in The News in the coming days for profiles of local candidates and ballot proposals.

If you already voted, we hope you studied well.

It’s almost the big day, folks. We’re in the home stretch.

We hope you voted or vote.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)