Yesterday’s historic election took center stage in Suffolk, the commonwealth and across our great nation. According to officials, there was a record voter turnout.

Polling places began crowding as early as 5 a.m. across the city, where voters stood in line for as long as three hours waiting to cast their ballot. Remarkably, with a record voter turnout, polling problems were at a minimum in Suffolk and across the country.

Beth Haywood of Chuckatuck was on target when she said, “This is a historical election, and everybody wants to be part of it.”

Indeed, the 2008 presidential election is one for the history books — not just because of the candidates and what they represented, but even more so because of the importance that citizens placed on their right to vote.

Many of the great touchstones of American history are the stories of men and women who made the greatest sacrifice for the right and the ability for all people regardless of age, race, or gender to be able to vote. Too often people forget about those sacrifices, but not this year. This year, people wanted change. People were willing to step out of comfort zones and voice their opinions by the almighty vote.

Everyone who voted yesterday — or in the days leading up to Election Day — honored those great Americans by doing so, regardless of whether they voted for the winners or the losers.