The election is over, and the voters have had an opportunity to cast their ballots.

This year, they seem to have had a lot to say with their votes.

On the presidential choice, voters wanted change. Despite the fact that both candidates claimed to be the one most able to make that change happen, it was apparent most voters felt Barack Obama was the clear choice for making a dramatic change in this country.

John McCain was seen as too connected to the current administration, and too old. Despite his claim to be a maverick, it didn’t compare to the message of his opponent.

The economic meltdown didn’t help. It was the icing on the cake of the change of voters deciding Obama was their choice.

On the Minnesota slate, it is obvious that voters are evenly split on who should represent them in the U.S. Senate.

After more than two and half million votes cast, the race is a virtual tie – just 206 votes separate the two.

With the recount looming this week, the race could finally be decided. However, if it remains this close even after a recount, we fear it may not be settled until next year.

Locally, voters went with the status quo, re-electing all three of the representatives. We see this is a confirmation that voters feel they are doing a good job.

In the county, voters in District 1 went with a change on the county board. John Roper campaigned hard, and struck a chord with enough voters to unseat incumbent Barb Steier.

As far as city voters, Blue Earth went with incumbents, although some new faces were elected on other city councils.

We hope that now that the dust has settled, voters from both sides will support the winning candidates.

They will need it.

When the winners take office in January, whether it is on the local or national level, they have to tackle a lot of tough issues, and make many difficult decisions.

We wish them good luck. They will need that too.