Best of Lawrence 2012 voting kicks off July 30 and goes through Sept. 7.

It’s hard to avoid election-year cliches with something like this, the 2012 Best of Lawrence issue. After all, we put it to a vote, and voters — you — came out in droves.

We dusted off the Best of Lawrence reader’s choice contest last year after a five-year hiatus, and it’s clear people were eager to let their voices be heard.

This year we had nearly 70 categories, and you cast nearly 5,000 ballots. Now the local businesses, creative people and special locales you love will be recognized as the best in their classes.

This year we allowed readers to nominate any and all entrants in a category, which means not only do the results truly reflect the will of voters, but that we also got many answers that ranged from head-scratching to kind of hilarious (Lawrence Vision Center for Best Dentist? Borders for Best Bookstore? “My bedroom” was a popular answer for Best Place for Romance. Zing!).

We also made it so that people submitting ballots could only vote once. No Chicago-style democracy here.

Congratulations to the Best of Lawrence winners. You help make Lawrence the unique community it is, from top-notch restaurants and world-class artists to businesses that meet the needs of this diverse city.

See the winners:

• Food

• Entertainment

• Local Business

• People

• Outdoors