They braved terrorist attacks. Some traveled to polling places by mule. None had ever voted; many could not have dreamed of the right to leave their houses, much less cast a ballot, just a few short years ago.

But on Saturday, Afghanistan held its first election, and international observers predict interim leader Hamid Karzai will be the winner.

Yes, there were problems. At issue right now is the ink that apparently rubbed off some ballots. Karzai opponents have backed off an earlier call to boycott the results of the election.

But what election day hasn’t seen an accusation of some kind of voter fraud? Anyone remember Florida?

Still, Saturday’s election in Afghanistan marked a major improvement. It is hard to believe that a few short years ago this nation, then ruled by a &uot;government&uot; not even recognized by most others in the world, could hold an election.

What should shame some Americans is that despite all of the obstacles &045;&045; including terrorist attacks such as the rockets that slammed into Kabul, killing a teenager &045;&045; an estimated 70 percent of registered voters came to the polls.

Four years ago, nearly half &045;&045; 49 percent &045;&045; of registered U.S. voters could not be bothered to show up on election day.

Mississippi Secretary of State Eric Clark has predicted a record turnout in Mississippi this year, perhaps more than 1 million people. We hope that trend holds true, and we hope it holds true across the country. We owe it to ourselves and our democracy to let our voices be heard.

If they can brave attacks in Afghanistan to vote for the first time, we can surely take a few minutes to cast our ballots.