Political primer: Your vote counts

We told you your vote counted - and now we hope you believe it.

The election between Sen. Conrad Burns and challenger Jon Tester proved to be pivotal in the determination of which political party would control the U.S. Senate for the next two years.

As other races back East were determined, it became clear fairly early in the night that the nation would be looking to Montana for its potentially deciding vote. At first Tester had a big lead, but that dwindled as the night went on. Finally, most of us went to bed unsure of whether Burns would manage to pull off a come-from-behind victory or not. Such a victory would have preserved the GOP majority in the Senate.

Instead, the final votes counted on Wednesday morning confirmed that Tester had kept his lead, and would join a new Democratic majority in D.C. - well, maybe. Virginia it turns out has an even closer race for Senate, and incumbent Sen. George Allen may ask for a recount there, which could still affect the outcome.

But what IS clear today is that every vote does make a difference.

If Burns had motivated a couple thousand more people to vote for him on Tuesday, then not only would he be senator for the next six years, but he would also have preserved a working majority for the Republicans. Instead President Bush now faces the unfamiliar prospect of dealing with an adversarial Congress. No one knows what the result will be in the long term, but it surely does show the importance of each individual election, and ultimately each individual vote.

If you need still more evidence, look at the District 5 race for Public Service Commission, one of the hardest-fought races in the state. Democrat Ken Toole was ahead for most of the evening, then fell behind his Republican opponent, Mike Taylor, through the early morning. Ultimately, a few late votes swung the election back to Toole, who maintained an apparent lead of 53 votes out of nearly 80,000 cast. That one will almost certainly go to a recount.

And then there is the mosquito district levy in Flathead County. That one was nip and tuck throughout the night, although the levy did ultimately pass by a vote of 16,365 to 15,714.

Finally, don't forget that there may be a shift in the Montana Legislature just as important as the shift in the U.S. Congress. If current results hold up, the House may turn barely Republican after being tied for the past two years. And again just a few votes made the difference.

In District 1, Republican Ralph Heinert led his Democratic opponent Eileen Carney by 1,594 to 1,576, a lead of just 18 votes. And in District 8, Republican Craig Witte led Democrat Randy Kenyon by just 45 votes.

The ultimate lesson in all of these races is to not take your own vote for granted. Get informed, get registered, and get to the polling place. Your vote matters.