It looks like all the dollars spent on the “Choose or Lose” and “Rock the Vote” campaigns have been worth it – Americans young and old turned out in droves Tuesday to cast ballots to guide the future of the country.

DeKalb County was no exception. Preliminary numbers are in; 35,163 voters made their voices heard.

As members of the age bracket that historically is least likely to vote, it was heartening to see the precincts at the Newman Catholic Student Center and the Student Recreation Center crammed with college students ready to vote. Apparently, not all college students are apathetic.

Across the nation, the stories were the same: Some precincts couldn’t close at 7 p.m. because there still were lines of people waiting for their chance to vote. Other precincts saw lines extending out the door and down the street for most of the day.

“Some polling places voted 25 percent of their entire registered voters in the first hour,” Tom Leach, spokesman for the Chicago Election Board, told The Associated Press. “That’s just unheard of.”

The strong voter turnout is testament to the importance of this election. In a recent CNN poll, about 75 percent of respondents indicated today’s election was the most important in their lifetime.

The turnout also is testament to the heated nature of the race. With George W. Bush and John Kerry neck and neck, it’s no wonder so many voters came out – every vote makes a difference.

But now that the elections are over, it is time Americans put aside the division of Democrats and Republicans – Bush supporters vs. Kerry backers – and embrace what we are supposed to be: the United States of America.

Let’s not let four more years go by without seeing any change in our nation.

Acting as the “Divided States” won’t get us anywhere. Working together will.