On June 4, 2002, a record number of Alabamians went to the polls to cast ballots for government representatives on county, state and national levels.

Now, in just less than a week, phase two will take place, when we are asked to return to the polls to "break the ties." Run-off elections are actually as important, if not more so, then the original primaries that precede them.

When we go to the original primary, we pick our candidates from large fields of people. Run-offs, on the other hand, allow us to choose between the top two candidates in each particular slot, when no candidate seeking that office gained more than 50 percent of the vote.

Many times, although run-offs seem imminent, a strong message is still sent in the first election n strong enough to identify clear favorites.

Unfortunately, history has shown that some run-off elections drew voters in numbers far less than in the initial vote. This causes a failure in our system, in that it can actually be translated to mean that we don't care as much about the run-offs, when in fact, they are just as important.

So when next Tuesday, June 25 rolls around, exercise your constitutional right, and more importantly, show the community that you care about your government, and ultimately, who will represent you.