From the "Why Every Vote Counts" Department

Some runoffs are stranger than others.

Travis Quinn, the incumbent for Clute's Ward D, and challenger Michael Binnion are hoping that more than two dozen voters cast ballots in the runoff Saturday.

Theirs is one of many Houston-area elections Saturday.

Clute's Ward D in Brazoria County has 695 registered voters, but the race there ended in a 12-12 tie.

Quinn, 61, said the May 12 tie shows how important every vote is.

"I've gotten a lot of apologies from people for not voting," Quinn said.

I'm sure everyone reading this has already voted early, but just in case you haven't, please don't risk being one of those people who will regret not having voted afterwards. You can avoid this kind of sorrow by voting on Saturday for Melissa Noriega. Though the absolute number of voters will be much bigger than 24, in turnout terms it's still going to be tiny.

Early voting ended Tuesday, with about 11,000 voters casting ballots. Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, who administers elections, said she expects overall turnout for Saturday's runoff to be between 1 percent and 2 percent of registered voters.

"That's pretty abysmal," Kaufman said. "But it's summer, school is out, it's hot, and Election Day falls on Father's Day weekend."

Last I checked, Father's Day wasn't a two-day holiday. You can still vote on Saturday and celebrate with dear old Dad on Sunday. It really won't take long to vote - there's only one race, and there won't be any lines.

Of course, if you have voted already, that doesn't mean you can't still help. You can make sure your family and friends vote. That's probably the most important thing you can do, but there are other things as well. This election really matters. Please do whatever you can to help Melissa win. Thanks very much.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 13, 2007 to Election 2007