One of the most common reasons someone will give when they say they don’t vote is that they think their one vote won’t make any difference.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that’s not always the case.

A reminder came near the end of 2024.

That’s when Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a release detailing the closeness of several races around the state in the November election. LaRose reported that the results of 23 local races triggered automatic recounts. Of those, three ended in a tie, three came down to three votes and three were decided by a single vote.

One of those three races that ended up being decided by one vote was in Jefferson County — it was the renewal of a 4-mill levy to cover current expenses in Dillonvale. When all the tallying was complete, 113 residents voted in favor of the issue, while 112 voted against the issue. It can’t get any closer than that.

With 382 voters registered in Dillonvale, there were a lot of opportunities for the outcome of the levy to have gone the other way.

“Never let anyone tell you a single vote doesn’t matter, which is why we continue to make sure it is easy to vote and hard to cheat in the Buckeye State,” LaRose said. “While the focus is often on the top of the ticket, local elections can have a big impact in communities across Ohio. By doing our part to protect the vote, we also are protecting your voice to ensure the outcome accurately reflects the will of the community.”

That’s something to consider, especially because local residents will be making some important decisions later this year. Since 2025 is an odd-numbered year, local races will take the spotlight across the state.

Those might not attract all of the attention that the national races — like the 2024 presidential election that we just went through. But you can make a pretty good argument that they actually are more important. That’s because those whose names will appear on the ballots will be our friends and neighbors.

They will be the people you see on a regular basis, whether you do business with them, worship with them, run into them at a restaurant or the grocery store, meet them at a school event or just happen to live in the same neighborhood or on the same street.

No matter how you know them, they will be the men and women who will be deciding how your community is run, and they will have the final say on whether or not your water bill will go up, how often your garbage will be collected or whether or not your street will be repaved.

There are some important deadlines coming up if you want to be involved in the coming election.

The first is the filing deadline for partisan races in the May 6 primary. Those petitions have to be filed by 4 p.m. Feb. 5, and there are some interesting positions that will be up for election, including Steubenville’s mayor, three seats on City Council (the Second, Fourth and Sixth wards) and Municipal Court judge.

Open offices in Toronto include council president, treasurer, three council at large seats and the unexpired Third Ward council term ending on Dec. 31, 2027.

In Mingo Junction, the treasurer and two members of Village Council are up for grabs.

Those are the communities in Jefferson County that have partisan races. The filing deadline for non-partisan races in Ohio will be 4 p.m. Aug. 6. That’s a list that includes offices in Wintersville and other villages in the county as well as members of the boards of township trustees.

On the West Virginia side of the Ohio River, meanwhile, there will be local races in Wellsburg, Follansbee and New Cumberland, with those elections to be decided in the spring.

While area residents are making decisions about whether or not they will enter any of the races, the window to register to vote in Ohio is open. To be eligible to vote in the May 6 primary, you will have to be registered before 9 p.m. on April 7. If you want to wait to vote in the Nov 4 election, you have until Oct. 6.

“Local elections which occur in odd-numbered years, like 2025, can come down to notoriously slim margins, so it is more important than ever to ensure you are registered to vote and prepared to participate in democracy in the new year,” LaRose said.

It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to register, but it can ensure you will have a say in how your community is run.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)