Voter turnout in Butler County in Tuesday’s mid-term election reached a healthy 62 percent. Across Pennsylvania, officials say, more than 4.9 million voters cast ballots. Nationwide, it is estimated that 114 million people voted — 37 percent more than cast a ballot in the 2014 midterms.

Let the back-patting commence. We just hope no one tweaks a shoulder in the midst of telling themselves how well our democratic republic functioned for 12 hours on one day this year.

This historic level of voter engagement should certainly be noted and is worthy of praise. But celebration and congratulations? Hardly.

American democracy is best served if people understand that politics and public service are marathons, not sprints.

This election was not a test that proved our political system works. The only thing it proved is that a riled-up electorate — people on both sides of the political spectrum are scared and angry — is willing to cast more ballots than one that is faced with serious, thoughtful questions and enough information to make informed choices.

Is that really such a surprise — or a good thing?

Don’t misunderstand: more Americans deciding to participate in our political process is an excellent first step toward a healthier democracy. But the process of motivating voters matters.

We are thrilled by the number of people who stood up and decided to take ownership of what our state and federal governments look like. But here are some sobering realities:

- Even if this level of political engagement continues in future elections, the United States would still trail most developed countries in voter turnout, according to the Pew Research Center.

- Most Americans are still embarrassingly uninformed about how our government was formed, what it looks like and how it operates. A 2016 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania found that just 25 percent of the population could name all three branches of the federal government.

- This election did nothing to restore trust or faith in our democratic institutions — or each other. And why should it have? According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute, it wasn’t international hackers that were trying hardest to dupe voters during the run-up to election day — it was other Americans. Researchers at Oxford’s Computational Propaganda Project found that the disinformation campaigns were actually worse this year than during the 2016 presidential election.

So again we ask: why is it that everyone seems so pleased with themselves?

There is much more work to be done if we are to reclaim the seriousness of purpose and mutual respect that forged the great achievements in our country’s past.

More people at the polls is an encouraging sign, but it is only the first step.