Residents of Ward 1 elected a new alderman to represent them on the city of Oxford Board of Aldermen this past week.

Less than 500 of the approximately 2,500 registered voters bothered to cast a ballot. Rick Addy easily defeated Jordan Bankhead to win the seat vacated by Jay Hughes, who is now representing us in the state legislature.

But for less than 20 percent of the registered voters to participate in the election is a sad testament to those who have fought and died to ensure our freedom.

Many argue that their vote just doesn’t count, and to some extent they have a fair argument when it comes to national elections. But there is no denying that every single vote counts when it comes to local elections.

In 2012, in a special election for Ward 6 between Alderman Jason Bailey and his opponent Kate Morrison, Bailey won by just 27 votes. In November 2015, Supervisor District 3 candidate David Rikard won by 12 votes against Dale Timothy Gordon, proving that every vote truly does matter.

That’s why we are so adamant that when the general election rolls around in November, that registered voters will support their candidate of choice.

Your vote could make a difference.