For many Democrats, the four years from Election Day, 2016, have been an eternity – something akin to having a bad dream that goes on and on and on.

But now, there’s a flickering light 72 hours or so ahead.

“It’s here. It’s finally here,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill told Morris County Democrats in a virtual rally today.

That, of course, is only one part of the puzzle. To erase the Democrats’ anguish of Nov. 8, 2016, Donald Trump must be defeated,

“We’re worried about what may happen if things don’t work out on Tuesday,” Tom Malinowski, who also represents Morris in the House, told listeners. “But I think things will work out.”

Malinowski, more than Sherrill, has been a target of the national Republican congressional campaign committee.

“They’re coming after me more than anybody else,” he said. “I take that as a compliment.”

He said that will make winning extra special.

Many people on both sides already have voted, but not everybody.

Sherrill urged her supporters to follow-up with those who have not yet returned a ballot and make sure they do so.

As we have heard from some Republicans as well, the Dems said some voters may be under the impression they can go to their local polling place as usual.

That really is a little hard to swallow. It’s not as if the rules for this pandemic-influenced election have been kept under wraps. They have been well publicized by the media and the political parties themselves. Do not registered voters have a responsibility to stay reasonably informed?

At any rate, First Lady Tammy Murphy, another speaker today, urged Morris to repeat the two congressional wins it brought home in 2018.

She said Republicans fear vote-by-mail, because, “When Democrats vote, Democrats win.”

As for the voting so far, Chip Robinson, the county Democratic chair, said that the “latest figures” show that about 63,000 Republicans and 63,000 Democrats have so far turned in ballots in Morris County.

Both parties can see positives in those numbers.

It shows Republicans are voting by mail, or via the lockbox route.

And Dems can take solace in matching the GOP in total votes, given the fact Republicans hold a countywide registration advantage of about 21,000.