Wednesday is the Deadline to Register to Vote in Presidential Primary

BEDFORD, MA - It’s a big year for elections in the United States, and if you don’t want to miss out on your chance to take part in the first big vote of the year -- the presidential primary -- there’s a deadline coming up on Feb. 10.

You have until Feb. 10 to change your party affiliation; submit documentation of a change in name or address; or update your records if you failed to return your annual census form.

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In Massachusetts, if you are registered with a particular party (Democrat, Republican or Green Rainbow, for example), you will only be permitted to vote for that party’s candidate in the March 1 presidential primary. If you are registered as “Unenrolled” (commonly referred to as “Independent”), you will be permitted to vote for whichever candidate you’d like in the primary.

t’s important to note that the “United Independent Party” is considered a political party, not “Unenrolled,” and that party does not have a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.

To register to vote, update your info, or change your party, you can:

• Go online via the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website (you must have a current Massachusetts driver’s license to register online).

• Visit the Bedford Town Clerk’s Office.

If you require an absentee ballot for the March 1 presidential primary, you may request one from the Office of the Town Clerk.