Franklin registrar Sandy Holloman was right when she told The Tidewater News that every election is important. This one, though, feels like the stakes couldn’t get any higher, especially when it comes to choosing our next president and vice president.

Right now, the United States is waging an unpopular and costly war.

Wall Street is melting down and the economy is in the toilet.

People are desperate for jobs and health insurance and stability of any kind.

We need an outlet to be heard, and voting is one of the best.

If the 2000 presidential election taught us anything, it’s that every vote counts.

It’s encouraging that election workers in Franklin, Southampton and Isle of Wight are busy sending out absentee ballots and registering voters. All three localities have hit record numbers of registrations — somewhere near 80 percent of eligible adults.

It’d be great if the other 20 percent signed up, too. Virginia certainly makes the process simple. To register, you must be a resident, a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and not claim the right to vote in any other state or have been declared mentally incompetent by a court of law. It’s really that easy.

After you register, go to the polls on Nov. 4 and make your voice heard.

Will the next administration have the power to save this country from its downward spiral?

We’re not sure.

But we’re going to vote and find out.