Americans, Kentuckians and UK students should give themselves a pat on the back. In one of the most important elections of our lives, they came through with flying colors.

According to a New York Times article, 62.5 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots Tuesday, just shy of the 62.6 percent turnout from the 1964 election, the largest turnout in history. Reports have indicated that this number could increase because of several absentee ballots that have not been counted.

This turnout can probably be attributed to a few factors. One might be that Americans wanted change. Or perhaps the campaigns did a better job of urging young people to vote. The youth voter turnout was a big disappointment in the 2004 election. But this year, whatever the reason, the votes were cast and tallied, and America’s voice was heard.

The numbers in Kentucky, while falling short of the record in 1992, were still good. Sixty-five percent of eligible voters came out, according to an article on the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Web site.

These numbers are proof that people in our country and our state are taking their responsibilities as citizens seriously. Voting is a big part of what makes our democracy thrive, and those eligible who don’t participate are forfeiting a fundamental right.

It’s also a testament to Lexington voters who waited in long lines and endured some slow voting machines. The Kernel reported on some of these problems Wednesday. If the people of Lexington can cast aside these problems in the name of democracy, we are truly on the right track in this country. It seems as though more people are taking voting seriously, and that is a wonderful thing.

It doesn’t matter who you voted for. A vote for a losing candidate is always better than no vote at all, and it always will be. But if your candidate lost and you didn’t vote, you should feel ashamed.

Ideally, it would be great to see these numbers improve in 2012. Time will tell. But for now, this editorial board salutes everyone who went out on Tuesday and made their voices heard.