Neck-and-neck races and too-close-to-call elections are becoming all too commonplace these days, proving once again that every vote counts.

All registered voters should head to the polls instead of submitting to the trend of ignoring their right and civic duty with lame excuses like “One vote doesn’t really matter.”

A lack of votes can severely affect the results of a race and determine the outcome. One only has to quickly glance over the results of Tuesday’s general election to reach that sobering conclusion.

Because of tight results, election officials say Michigan residents will not officially know who their attorney general-elect is until Nov. 25.

Reports show Republican Mike Cox received 1,497,302 votes, and Democrat Gary Peters grabbed 1,492,387 - a 4,915 difference.

A recount has been requested.

This might or might not be indicative of a growing national trend, but other elections in the region also were narrowly decided last week.

In the race for the MSU Board of Trustees, top candidate votes were within percentage points of each other. Republican Don Nugent and state Sen. Joanne Emmons, R-Big Rapids, both received around 24 percent of the vote -