By Katy Cannady, Alexandria (File photo)

To the editor:
My sense of things is that many citizens will be coming to the polls November 3 who may have stayed away in previous local elections. Perhaps holding local elections in the fall rather than spring really will foster more participation. Some instructions for those who are satisfied with the choice of candidates appearing on the ballot may be in order.

First, the Democratic Party’s nominee, Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg, will be the only name printed on the ballot for mayor. To vote for her, you must take an affirmative action by filling in the little oval next to her name. We have a paper ballot with writing materials at each voting booth for marking the ballot.

My recommendation is to fill in that oval for Silberberg before proceeding down the ballot to the names of the 11 candidates for city council. Be careful not to vote for more than six — that would invalidate your ballot. However, voting for fewer than six candidates is your right. Since winners in the city council election are the six highest vote getters, voting for fewer than six has the effect of giving those candidates at least a slight advantage.

Our registrar’s office has a well-deserved reputation for fair and honest elections. Our ballots are counted by computer and we should know the results at least of the council election and the General Assembly races soon after the polls close. The final determination of the mayor’s race may take another day or two. But after that I am confident we will move on to a new and better era in our city’s long history.