At election time, this community breaks apart for a little while. We find out what our differences are in the tallies that come out of the voting machines and go on to the Board of Elections and up on the blackboards at the various election night headquarters.

Some people like so-and-so. Some like another. It’s an endless source of amazement for many of us that a smart, decent and reasonable person could possibly have an opinion other than our own.

Just how are the voters making their decisions around here these days?

People may know a candidate personally: that’s common in a small town like this.

Some people may have read one thing or another and maybe some have seen something on Channel 22 or online. A lot of decisions may be the result of what people have heard at the post office or at Fedi’s, O’s or Stars.

The biggest factor, however, is probably bias: the constellation of interests and opinions that define a voter’s sense of himself and his place in the world.

Some candidates shake their heads at how little the people know about the facts. Rumor, innuendo and misinformation abound.

It’s true: the people who decide who gets elected are not always well-informed, much less insiders who know all the details. They are people with busy lives who do not have the time or the inclination to study town affairs, watch all the meetings or ask public officials and candidates a lot of questions.

Even if they did, what would they really know? So-and-so says this and so-and-so says that. Good luck finding the truth or even the best choice.

So what’s a candidate or officeholder to do to get elected or stay in office? He or she must do the homework, know the facts, be honest and be themselves. That’s all there is to it. That kind of honesty and clarity comes through to voters, even if they don’t know the candidate or officeholder or the issues all that well.

No secret message is intended here for the winners or losers of Tuesday’s election; in fact, this piece was written, by necessity, before the polls closed and the results were anybody’s guess.

It’s all a bit of a mystery, who wins and who loses, but one thing is clear. Every single candidate is a winner for having put himself into the fray; every single one, incumbent or challenger, newcomer or veteran, deserves credit for seeking a place at the table of government.

Most of us can’t or won’t dare run for office. Most of us sit back and judge while the doers give it their all.

Thank you, candidates, the doers who are keeping democracy alive.