There are still many votes left to be counted, but there are none left to be cast. Therefore, the season when people try to sway each other toward their preferred candidates has passed.

And as the leaves fall from the trees, so must campaign signs drop away from roadsides and yards.

The number of campaign signs in the North Country this year was amazing. We’re not sure we’ve ever seen so many. People planted them in their front yards like flags of self-expression, and there must’ve been armies of volunteers planting them along the highway and byways.

While it can feel overwhelming to have all those people trying to influence you, it’s also a good sign that people believe in free elections, in a fair contest of ideas decided by the people, rather than giving up and letting the powerful seize more power. Both Republicans and Democrats feared that some on the other side would try to cheat, but all those signs showed they believed most voters would try to play by the rules.

But now that Election Day is over, those signs look useless. In a few days, they will look like litter.

Let’s not let it get to that point. We hope and expect all those who put the signs up will quickly take them all down again. Doing so is a sign of responsibility and respect.