THUMBS UP to all the readers who chimed in on the issues and candidates in the Nov. 4 election.

The editorial pages of the newspaper printed more than 450 letters to the editor after Labor Day, the unofficial start of the campaign season. That’s every letter we received that fit our minimal requirements: 150 or fewer words, along with the writer’s name, town or city of residence, and a phone number.

That enthusiasm proved out at the polls, as well, with the Secretary of State’s Office saying voter turnout was expected to be between 55 percent and 60 percent. That’s in the neighborhood of Maine’s midterm election turnout in 2010, when 56.2 percent of voters cast a ballot.

Maine consistently has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country, and this year was no exception. According to the United States Election Project, national turnout this year was under 37 percent, and Maine was one of 12 states to see an increase in voter turnout from 2010, the last midterm election.

Central Maine communities were part of that effort. In Augusta, 7,740 voters cast a ballot for governor, compared to 7,639 four years ago. The number of ballots cast in Waterville increased as well, from 5,495 to 5,643.

Now that the votes have been counted, however, the real work begins. We hope readers keep a close eye on the people who are now in office and the issues that will be on the table. With the campaigns over, our word limit for letters to the editor returns to 300. Readers should use that extra space to help us hold elected officials at all levels accountable for the promises made over the last few months.

THUMBS UP to five states that approved increases to the minimum wage on Tuesday, including three states — Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — that OK’d the wage increases even while voting Republicans into statewide offices.

That may signal that the appetite for a minimum wage increase is more bipartisan than is traditionally assumed, a dynamic that could lead to action on the national level, where President Barack Obama has felt stiff opposition from Republicans on a plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

In Maine, Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a proposal last year to raise the state minimum wage, and, during the campaign, the governor said he didn’t oppose a raise in the federal wage but would not support raising Maine’s unilaterally.

A poll conducted in September by the Portland Press Herald found that 75 percent of Mainers supported raising the federal minimum wage. Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have now recently raised their minimum wage, and others are sure to follow. That’s an acknowledgment that the federal minimum wage has been shrinking in real value for decades and must be increased, if only to keep up with inflation.

The widespread support for an increase should force Congress to act. Too many people are working at or near a minimum wage that is not close to providing a living.

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