Here in Massachusetts, voters will decide who will speak for them in Boston on a range of issues from public schools to taxes.
Your vote, as we've noted, is important whether you are voting for the president of the United States or your state representative.
Two years ago, prompted by the disputed Florida presidential vote in 2000, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act.
The law allows each state to decide for itself the requirements for voter registration and even what technology to use.
As a result, many states will still be using outdated and flawed technology to choose a president today. Congress will have to do better than that.
Massachusetts did not have the trouble that Florida had in the 2000 election, but that fiasco was a cue for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts to act.
The league prepared a Voters' Bill of Rights so that voters might better understand their voting rights. Signed by Gov. W. Mitt Romney and Secretary of State William Galvin, it is an important document.
Among the basic rights:
You have the right to vote without any person trying to influence your vote and to vote in a booth that prevents others from watching you mark your ballot.
You have the right to remain in the voting booth for five minutes if there are other voters waiting and for 10 minutes if there are no other voters waiting.
You have the right to receive up to two replacement ballots if you make a mistake and spoil your ballot.
You have the right to vote if you are disabled. The polling place must be accessible, and there must be an accessible voting booth.
You have the right to cast a provisional ballot if you believe you are a qualified, registered voter but a poll worker tells you that you are ineligible to vote.
Galvin said that the Voters Bill of Rights will be posted at every polling place today.
If you feel your right to vote has been denied or violated, call 1-800-462-8683.
