We  applaud the people who took time out of their Tuesday evening to attend the Freeborn County Republican or DFL caucuses.

This is an important election, and it was great to see so many involved.

At the Republican caucuses, 585 people voted, and at the DFL caucuses, there were 444 votes cast. Both sides had some of the largest — if not the biggest ever — turnouts. People of all ages attended, and there were many first-time caucus-goers. While some were interested in seeing how the process worked, many simply wanted to vote for their presidential preference.

At the local DFL Party caucuses, many people had to wait in line for at least an hour, some even outside, because of the turnout. Despite the crowd and the long waits, most people seemed to be pleasant and willing to wait as long as they could voice their opinions.

The same was true across the state as hundreds of thousands of people participated, sometimes causing traffic backups, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Thanks for taking the initiative to voice your opinions.

We encourage the people who did not come out to the caucuses to get involved in the November election and to educate yourself on the candidates.