Serious changes have been made this week in the makeup of our communities.

That’s called democracy. That’s what the voting process is all about. Choices were offered, and choices were made.

As best we can tell, the contests fought on Tuesday were fought on level playing fields. Debates were held, campaigns were waged and winners were crowned, losers were congratulated on their efforts.

In a very short time, new officers will be in control of their missions.

We only hope that those who did not win their elections maintain civility and continue to contribute to the greater good of our community.

In a measure, that’s what local elections are about: Those who did not get enough votes to take office need to support those who did, and make government work for those whose votes were sought. If candidates truly cared about the electorate, watching out for their opponents is expected.

This year’s candidates spent a great deal of advertising money on fliers, on ads in this newspaper and for billboards, literature and roadside signs.

That’s part of the campaigning in this day and age.

Here’s another part: removing those very campaign signs. It is delinquent and irresponsible to leave campaign signs in place for any length of time following the election. While it’s not realistic, it would a fulfilling twist in the election process to subtract one vote for each sign stuck in the ground after Election Day. But that’s fantasy.

The election is over and greater responsibilities to the electorate lie ahead. Part of that responsibility is to remove what now has to be considered litter.