The positive in election's loud last days

Depressed about the constant clamor from political candidates? Can't wait for this all to end?

Understood.

But some reflection on two prominent characteristics of this campaign - massive early voting and the heavy involvement of young people - may lend at least one positive note to the season that can make a few more days of cacophony bearable, if not entirely welcome.

In a way, it's not surprising that early voting, which ends today, is breaking records throughout the suburbs this election year. Early voting is only three years old in Illinois, after all, and this is the first time it's been available for a presidential general election. So, there's not much history to beat - and what there is ought to be growing as the public becomes more aware of and comfortable with the process.

But the size of the increases is what's so encouraging. Early voting isn't just successful in isolated areas. It is mushrooming in counties all across the country, and especially in the Chicago suburbs. Suburban Cook County reported the number was approaching the 200,000 mark Wednesday, and every county in the Daily Herald circulation area is reporting turnout of at least three times that seen in the primary just last February.

Along with all these early voters comes a new show of energy from young voters. Daily Herald staff writer Kerry Lester described Sunday the activities of suburban youths representative of a Harvard Institute of Politics survey showing an explosion of political involvement by high school and college students.

Those findings were reinforced a day later in a report by senior state government editor John Patterson, though Patterson's story included the perspective of election expert Curtis Gans, who warns that "this is all an Obama phenomenon."

Maybe. We do know that historically, young voters tend to skew Democratic. But the Harvard report made a point of noting that the surge of participation by young people crosses party and gender lines and extends to various candidates. And Patterson quotes the authors of a critically acclaimed book on modern politics who predict today's active young voters "will not only vote at rates comparable to older voters, just like their G.I. Generation great-grandparents did, but they will also continue to vote heavily and participate vigorously in the political process for the rest of their lives."

In the interests of democracy, we hope that proves true. People may well be more energized about this election because they identify candidates they respect with policies they admire.

Whatever the impetus, this surge of interest can't be bad. Democracy thrives on participation. To work well, it needs to be infused with the passions of the electorate. Without the energy these passions inspire, it withers and fades.

So, yes, we may all be growing tired of the constant promises, the charges and counter charges. But the good news is twofold: One, the cacophony is a sign the system is healthy. And two, we have to listen to it now for only a few more days.