When we as voters elect someone to represent us in Augusta or Washington, we expect that they are going to do just that: Take our collective concerns and opinions into account on every issue, and then show up to make their vote when the time comes.

That’s not always the case, unfortunately, as some representatives and senators don’t put a lot of stock into casting their vote every time.

Not so with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has been representing us Mainers in Washington since January 1997. Collins made her 5,000th consecutive vote on the Senate floor on Thursday, which means she has never missed a vote in the past 15 years. That’s a formidable feat, one that’s reportedly taken a great amount of effort for Collins to maintain: She once abandoned a flight just before it pulled away from the gate to head home to Maine and even twisted her ankle running in heels to the Senate floor to make it in time to cast her vote.

We’d like to commend the senator for her impeccable voting record ”“ one that’s made national headlines ”“ and her dedication to representing the people of Maine. It’s clear that Collins takes her job very seriously and whether or not you agree with the votes she casts, at least we all know that Maine has a consistent and strong voice in our nation’s capital.

Collins’ voting record doesn’t stand alone in the history of representation, but it’s unfortunately not a commonplace achievement either. According to the Associated Press, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa is the only sitting senator with a longer voting streak, having cast 6,444 consecutive votes dating back to 1993. The record holder in the Senate is Wisconsin Democrat William Proxmire, who had 10,252 consecutive votes during his time in Washington, from April 20, 1966 to Oct. 18, 1988; and Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith had an impressive record of her own, making every Senate roll call in 13 years before surgery ended the streak at 2,941.

It seems Collins is in good company, and we’re glad to see that our other senator, Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, also has a healthy voting record. According to govtrack.us, the median of missed votes among senators is 2.4 percent, and Snowe has only missed 1 percent, or 110 of 13,780 recorded or roll call votes from January 1979 to June of this year.

While the work our congressional representatives do with constituents, in committees and on Capitol Hill is all important and part of getting the job done, it’s the vote that really counts in the end, and we applaud Sen. Collins for her steadfast determination to make the most of the responsibility and opportunity granted to her by the people of Maine.

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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski, representing the majority opinion of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.