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The vacuum is ending today, as polls remain open until 8 p.m. for District 1 voters to select a school board member. It’s been vacant since the death of Marguerite LaMotte in December, and now, either George McKenna or Alex Johnson is going to succeed her.

McKenna won the June primary by 20 percentage points, with Johnson second in a seven-person field. Lately, the gap has closed, which puts extraordinary power on every vote.

The district has 342,493 registered voters. Only 13 percent of them voted in the primary and many fewer are expected this time. But that could still change if people keep the core tenet of democracy in mind, that we can choose our leaders by voting.

Remember, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain!