Ignore the old jibes of Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln and make your vote count today

That said, the thoughts on the matter from the great and the good over the years sometime tell a different story.

Winston Churchill was a hero of the great British public but could be withering in his views regarding their ability to make the right decision.

“The best argument against democracy,” he once said, “is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Ouch!

Even revered American president Abraham Lincoln had his reservations about the process.

“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision,” he insisted. But added: “If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

Local elections take place today and many will be asked to put a cross in the box to have their say on their own community.

The turn out at our elections, however, is invariably poor.

The recent General Election and relatively recent European Referendum - and subsequent fall-out - may have put many off returning the polls again.

There are those who will argue that not voting is, in itself, a kind of protest vote against the system.

But apathy should never be allowed to rule.

If you’re not part of the solution, you’re - like it or not - part of the problem.

There are many apt and not so apt sayings regarding democracy, but he truth of the matter, which we should not forget, is that people laid down their lives to ensure we live in a free society where every vote counts. All we ask is you don’t waste it.

Better to risk sitting on blisters of your own making than on blisters forever inflicted by others.