The time to register is over. The face of our nation — and several of the faces of our county —for the next four years will be chosen by those who signed up to cast their vote.

The time to register to vote in the 2008 general election next month was Monday. Now is time to get educated and make a difference.

The Lawrence County Board of Elections is expecting that as many as 75 percent of the county’s more than 45,000 registered voters will hit the polls on election day.

In part because the ongoing economic crisis, rising energy costs and uncertainty about the nation’s involvement in Iraq, the state of Ohio is predicting that turnout could top 80 percent.

We hope both are wrong. We’d like to see turnout make history in this already historic election and set an all-time high.

While the current absentee system is flawed because it does open the door for abuse, the reality is that the absentees do allow voters who wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise to have a voice.

We urge voters who do decide to vote absentee to do so responsibly and not allow anyone other than family or close friends to assist in the process.

Less than a month remains before the election and time to educate yourself as a voter is running short. While it is easy to tune out the campaigns and the political messages that have been bombarding citizens for months, we hope voters can avoid apathy when it comes to such a monumental election on a national and local level.

The time to register may have passed. The time to use your vote afforded to you by living in this great country is still approaching.

Make sure you are ready.