Elections are a pretty big deal to us, and there are interesting match-ups brewing throughout Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Four candidates — three city councilors and one high school senior — have filed for the seat of mayor of Hermiston. Two candidates are running for mayor in Pendleton and seven are running for four city council seats.

Umatilla County voters will decide on two ballot measures related to the office of sheriff: one to increase the minimum age for candidates from 21 years to 25 years, and the other to establish a residency requirement.

Morrow County has four candidates running for Position 1 on the county board of commissioners, including the incumbent.

Voters in the Ukiah School District will decide on a $1.5 million bond to pay for school improvements.

Then there are state races, including the race to replace outgoing Sen. Bill Hansell in Senate District 29 and Rep. Greg Smith has a challenger for House District 57.

Our coverage of elections is important for obvious reasons but even more important is the task to ensure we present this particular news story accurately.

Elections can be a challenge to cover just because emotions of candidates and voters can run high. Our job, though, is to present as much information as possible that is accurate to work very, very hard to appear value-free.

Readers, I think, need to know as much as possible about a candidate or an issue. In this day and age, it may seem feasible to gather information from other digital sources but the difference between someone simply writing a paragraph on a candidate and then posting it and us is we have a stringent fact-checking system. We don’t simply write whatever about a candidate or an issue. We follow a set of rules whereby facts are checked and we work in a precise and diligent manner to present the facts.

That can be a challenge at times, depending on the amount of time we have to put a story together but we’ll hold a piece if we believe that more needs to be done, or certain facts need to be verified.

It is important to us that readers believe we will move in a methodical way when we are covering any story.

So, stay tuned, so to speak, this month and next as our election coverage increases and we work to make sure you, the reader, have all the information you need to make informed decisions.