We know that many students may simply overlook Ames’ city elections because they are not from Ames and are not planning to stay for more than a few years. But if you are registered (or want to register) to vote in Ames rather than your hometown, take a few minutes to visit your local polling station to vote for your city councilor and to support or reject the measure to renovate the Ames Public Library.

Citizen voting is the foundation of our civilized democratic society and when you get the chance to vote, you should take it if you are able. Obviously it is a lot more fun to vote in an election such as the national presidential election where CNN and MSNBC spend hours, if not days, analyzing the build-up and aftermath of the election process using huge colored boards, squads of pundits and more recently, fancy technology such as digital holograms of field reporters.

But part of why local elections are so important is because they affect what happens right here in Ames. Whether you want to find a job eventually in New York or California after your time as a college student, Ames will be your community for a few years of your life. The candidates for city council include men and women who live and work in Ames, who went to Iowa State University, who own stores you visit every day, such as The Fighting Burrito, and businesses in town such as PowerFilm.

The major measure on today’s ballot is to provide an $18 million bond to fund renovation of the Ames Public Library. If you have never visited this great staple of the Ames community on Douglas Avenue near Main Street, you should take the time to visit or perhaps stop in next September for their annual book sale.

The Ames Public Library is great, but it was never built for the digital age and was last renovated in the mid-’80s. As more adults and students start to use eBooks and new forms of media, the library must evolve and now is seeking to provide more community meeting spaces and quiet reading spaces. To do this, they need the support of the Ames community and the students of Iowa State.

If you do not know much about the candidates, you can learn a lot by reading the Daily’s city news section or by reviewing the support letters we have received in our online opinion section. Other community newspapers have more news about the elections and the candidates. You might try the Ames Tribune or the Ames Patch if you want to learn more. Every election, local or national, is important to the community, so go vote!