Now that the presidential election is over, we should heed the calls for unity from both President-Elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. This is needed not just nationally, but in Madison County as well. No matter how your political tastes run, we all need to work together to overcome the big challenges of the day. And while it’s fine to experience the joy of a new president’s inauguration, you should temper that with the realization that he inherits many weighty problems that will not likely all be solved quickly.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama captured the most votes in Virginia and nationwide to win the Nov. 4 U.S. presidential election, but he came in second in Madison County. His Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, received more Madison votes – 3,758 – to Obama’s 2,862. (This is according to unofficial results from the Madison County Registrar’s Office.)

Compared to other places, Madison County generally has a strong voter turnout for presidential elections. Although Registrar Diana Eanes declined to make any specific predictions on the turnout for this Tuesday’s voting, when asked if she thought it would be a higher percentage turnout than the 75 percent of the county’s registered voters who cast ballots in the 2004 Bush-Kerry race, she replied, “Oh, sure.”

Election officials are warning local residents to keep T-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons and other campaign materials touting candidates away from the polls Nov. 4. Although the state law banning campaign materials within 40 feet of a polling place on Election Day has been on the books for years, state board of elections officials recently spelled out exactly what they mean by “campaign materials.”

Madison County resident Terry Cover has only voted in one presidential election in the past, he said. “It was back when [Alabama] Gov. [George] Wallace was running,” the middle-aged, casually dressed man who lives near Wolftown told The Eagle. But come Nov. 4, he’s sure he will be at the polls.