By the time you read this, we should know the results of the Presidential election and local races. But as of now, voting is still underway. President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney have been campaigning for the highest office in the land for years.

For other races — U.S. Congress, state House and Senate and local offices — the campaign season hasn’t been as long, but no doubt everyone will be glad when this election cycle is over.

While all the calls, the charges and counter-charges, e-mails and election flyers and postcards have kept the names before us, they’ve also gotten to be annoying.

And yet … it’s good that there are people who are willing to put themselves forward as candidates for the various offices.

What we as citizens need to do is to hold the newly-elected or re-elected public officials accountable.

When we complain about issues or votes, but don’t know details of the issues, we’re shortchanging our communities and ourselves.

Whether it be books used in the schools, property tax rates, city or county zoning or any other issue, we need to know what the question is, what the ideas are for dealing with the question, and the pros and cons of the issue.

Attend the meetings, talk to the elected officials you’ve hired with your vote, and read about the issues in our local community newspaper.

Congratulate the winners in Tuesday’s election, thank the losers for their efforts, and hold the elected officials accountable for their actions.

The folks who hold these offices don’t “own” them — we the people do. Make them be accountable for their actions, and thank them for their service.

Then, get ready for the next round of elections.