In case you have let it slip under your radar, here’s an important reminder: The Nov. 4 election is about a month away, and the deadline to register to vote in that election is Monday.

This is an off-year election, which means it doesn’t quite carry the glamour and excitement that surround a congressional election every two years and a presidential election every four years.

There aren’t any of those major races on this year’s fall ballot. But the offices that are open, and the issues Ohio residents are being asked to vote on, really are the ones that have the greatest impact on our day-to-day lives.

Steubenville residents, for example, will be choosing a new mayor. Jerry Barilla will be leaving the position he has held for the last eight years. His likely replacement will be fellow Republican Ralph Petrella, who has no opposition from the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean city residents won’t have a choice: Chuck Burch is running a write-in campaign.

There also are contested races in the city’s Second and Fourth wards. Incumbent Republican Tracy McManamon has no Democratic opposition in the Second Ward, while Derek Smith is mounting a write-in campaign. In the Fourth Ward, incumbent Democrat Royal Mayo is being challenged by Republican Marc Barnes.

Voters in Steubenville also will find eight amendments to the city’s charter on the ballot.

Residents throughout the rest of the area will be voting on members of council in villages and in Toronto, the county’s only other city. Township residents will be choosing trustees, and school board seats will be on the ballot.

Many of those races will be contested — and that’s a good thing. It’s important to have new people seeking offices. If elected, they can bring a new perspective to the board or council they will be joining. If they don’t win a seat, they will at least have made an incumbent have to work a little harder to keep his or her position.

Depending on where you live, it’s likely you will be asked to weigh in on a tax issue. Each issue provides the funding needed for your community to continue to provide the services that are relied on each day.

And, everyone in Jefferson County will have the chance to vote on the renewal of a levy that is vital to the operation of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

Before you can have a say in any of that, you have to be registered to vote — and if you have not yet completed that process, you are running out of time — the deadline is 9 p.m. on Monday. You can register to vote, change your name or change your address at Myohiovote.com or by visiting the Bureau of Motor Vehicles; any public library; public high schools and vocational schools; designated agencies that provide public assistance or disability programs; or the county treasurer’s office.

You also can register at the Jefferson County Board of Elections office on the first floor of the Tower building at 500 Market St. The office will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to accommodate anyone who is still looking to complete the process.

Ohio’s early voting at the board of elections will begin Tuesday. Ballots can be cast from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 14-17 and Oct. 20-24; from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27; from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 28; from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29-31; from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 1; and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 2.

There will be no early in-person voting on Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 4.

You also can vote by mail through the traditional absentee process.

Ohioans already are making their choices — ballots for military and overseas voters were mailed on Sept. 19.

“One of the freedoms that we fight to preserve is the right to vote. As a fellow soldier, thank you for your service,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said. He speaks from experience — LaRose served as a Green Beret in the Army’s 101st Airborne.

“As a veteran, I know how important it is that Ohioans serving our country abroad never miss the opportunity to have their voice heard back home,” he said.

Complaining is one of the activities that just about everyone can — and does — participate in, but no one has to sit back and gripe about elected officials or the taxes they pay. You can have a say in the process — all you have to do is register and then vote.

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Here’s another final reminder: If you are planning to write a letter to the editor that has anything to do with the Nov. 4 election, the deadline for submissions is noon on Oct 23, with those letters running in the Oct. 26 edition — or, depending on the number of submissions we receive, on Oct. 24 as well.

Here’s a quick rundown of our guidelines: All submissions have to be 500 words or less, include the writer’s name and the city they live in and a telephone number that is used only for confirmation purposes of if there’s a question that needs to be answered. The complete set of guidelines appears on the editorial or opinion page almost every day.

Write a letter — be involved and let your voice be heard.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)