Editorial

Unless you’ve been living under a massive rock, you know that in less than three weeks, St. Louis County voters will encounter one of the longest ballots in history when they decide a range of federal, state and local issues Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Other than a presidential year, we’d be hard pressed to think of a more consequential election than this one, with ramifications for the state for decades to come.

At the top of the ballot is, of course, the race that is getting national attention, the battle royale between incumbent U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley, and the lower-key but equally interesting race for state auditor between current Auditor Nicole Galloway and challenger Saundra McDowell.

Voters will also weigh a range of important statewide ballot measures governing ethics and redistricting, the minimum wage, medical marijuana and a gas tax, making this year a turning point for people who want to shake things up in Missouri.

Those races might offer most of the drama — including that time McDowell called Galloway a dog at the Missouri Press Association’s forum, or the time earlier this week that proponents of Clean Missouri, Amendment 1, dangled giant lobbyist gift boxes over the Enterprise Center to show how legislators are bought.

But a vote cast for any of those candidates or issues will literally be one in a million.

For each individual voter, the more important impact could come down-ballot, in the race for state legislators or Crestwood mayor.

So make sure that you do your homework by analyzing the Call’s candidate questionnaires, reading more questions and answers available online and perhaps even voting early.

We like to think that we have a pulse on the populace, but we’ve seen some stunners in our time — on a small level, the write-in victory of former Sunset Hills Mayor Mark Furrer means that we’ll never take anything for granted. And on a larger level, the same lesson hit home again with the defeat of county Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch in the August primary to reform challenger Wesley Bell.

Even in a county of a million people, your one vote can make all the difference. In August, voters rejected a county Charter amendment proposed by the County Council by just 46 votes out of more than 250,000.

That’s why they say every vote counts. So make yours count.