The next round of municipal elections is less than a week away, and we here at the Shelby County Reporter are getting prepared to produce coverage of each election the night of Aug. 28.

Hopefully all of our local registered voters are also getting prepared to go vote on Election Day.

We’ve seen a great turnout at the municipal election forums that we’ve put on along with the local chambers of commerce. Audience members have been engaged, listening closely to candidates’ answers to questions about the economy, goals for the next four years, adding to and improving services and infrastructure, among other topics.

We’ve seen candidates — mayoral and city council — stay around after forums to talk with citizens and answer questions.

We hope we’ve helped to jumpstart conversations between current and future city leaders and those who those leaders will serve in the next four years.

Judging by the comments we’ve seen lately on various election-related stories on our website and on our Facebook page, this election cycle has raised plenty of issues that local voters think are important, and you’re not afraid to point those issues out.

That’s great. We want our sites to be places for open, honest discussion, and while those discussions do sometimes veer off into the realm of arguing, we’re hearing from the people of this county, who we are here to serve.

In the end, however, Facebook posts and witty comments won’t do that much to accomplish citizens’ goals, whether that’s to effect change or leave things the same. The only real way to do that is to go out and vote on Aug. 28.

Please take a look at the story about the various voting locations for each municipality on the front page of this newspaper. Familiarize yourself with your voting location, especially if this is your first time voting in your municipality or if you have a new voting location.

If you have questions about your voting location, do not hesitate to call your city or town hall to get your questions answered. Then on Aug. 28, wear your “I voted” sticker with pride.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.