Have you voted yet?

Have you voted yet?
It sounds like a silly question, since city elections won’t be held until Nov. 3.
But early voting has changed everything.
Poll workers at the Jay County Courthouse report a slow but steady stream of early voters for contested races in Portland, Dunkirk and Redkey.
Why vote early?
For one thing, it guarantees that you actually make it to the polls.
Voters who cast their ballots early do so when they find it convenient. That way, if something pops up on Election Day — work, bad weather or a sick kid, for example — they’ll know that their vote will be among those counted.
By now, most of us know who we’re going to be voting for. If you’ve made up your mind, there’s no point in putting it off. It’s not as if some sort of “October surprise” is going to make a difference in a local mayoral or council race.
For newspapers like this one, early voting has had a major impact on pre-election coverage. Candidate profiles, interviews and questionnaires are now on an accelerated schedule, published earlier these days so that early voters will be informed.
If you missed those, they’re still available on The Commercial Review’s website. There’s no convincing argument for being uninformed.
So, back to that original question: Have you voted yet? — J.R.