There was one result from Nov. 3’s midterm elections that should please everyone, regardless of their political leanings.

Voter turnout for the election across the nation reached 49.10% or 123,540 ballots actually cast out of 251,588,219 eligible voters, according to the Election Lab Data Archive at the University of Florida.

The historic turnout for midterm elections in the United States has been about 40% in most years.

In Butler County, 59.4% of the county’s 144,512 registered voters went to the polls, besting the Election Lab’s reported statewide percentage of 50.06%.

That’s pretty impressive for a midterm election.

It’s axiomatic that high voter turnout is vital for a healthy democracy. Low turnout is often blamed on political disengagement and the belief that it doesn’t matter who is elected because nothing will change.

Neither of those factors were at play Nov. 3. Voters were engaged in the election to a high degree. The “Blue Wave” of Democratic candidates that were swept into office demonstrates voters were calling for a change in the politics of the last two years.

Of course, if those newly elected to office falter or renege in the promises that got them elected, the electorate could slip into apathy and voter turnout could again slump.

However, 2028 will be a presidential election year, which always boosts turnout. And the next two years promises, at the very least, to keep the populace engaged in the happenings in statehouses, governors’ mansions and the nation’s capital.

— EF