Lynners signing up for their civic duty

LYNN – Linda Aki-Cobham never saw a ballot box when she went to vote in her native Nigeria, where most people assumed the ballot they cast represented an endorsement or declamation of the ruling party.Aki-Cobham took the oath of United States citizenship in 2006 and, last Thursday, she filled out the simple paperwork required to allow her to vote in the Nov. 4 election.”It’s so different from back home. Now I think it’s a civic duty. I’m more aware that if we don’t vote for the right person the wrong person will be in and all we will be able to do is complain,” she said.Nearly 1,000 new voters in Lynn alone have registered to vote since the September primary election. The deadline to register is Oct. 15 and voters who assume they are registered should call the city Election Department and make sure election officials list them on voting rolls under the correct address.Laura Greene moved from Burlington to Lynn a year ago and registered to vote last week so she can have a say in deciding the presidential contest.Her vote will help make history: For the first time since 1952, neither parties’ presidential candidate is an incumbent president or current or former vice president.”I’d like to see things change – gas prices in particular and the economy in general,” Greene said.Although the presidential race dominates the election, voters will also decide three ballot questions as well as county, state and congressional races.The ballot questions call for the abolition of the state income tax, some decriminalization of marijuana, and a ban on dog racing.Booklets containing the text of these proposed laws, as well as arguments for and against them, have been mailed to every household in Massachusetts. The booklets also contain a voter registration affidavit for persons wishing to register. Registration forms are also available at city and town halls, public libraries, registries of motor vehicles and other state agencies.Persons who are United States citizens, residents of Massachusetts, and who will be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day are eligible to register. They can register at their city or town hall, by mail, or at a Registry of Motor Vehicles office. Anyone who has moved to a different city or town within Massachusetts must register again to be eligible to vote in that community.”The number of requests for absentee ballots already and the volume of calls to the Elections Division suggest that there will be a high turnout, but it is vital that you register by Oct. 15,” Secretary of State William Galvin said. “If you are uncertain of your registration status, call your local registrars of voters or your city or town clerk to make certain before the deadline.”There were 4,093,503 voters registered for the Sept. 16 primary, and Galvin estimates that the total could increase by as much as 100,000 by close of registration on Oct. 15.On the Secretary’s Web site at www.sec.state.ma.us under My Election Information, you can type in your address and learn where your polling place is located and the telephone number of your election officials. A list of telephone numbers of city and town halls throughout the commonwealth is on the Web site under Citizens Information Service.