With the national news cycle filled with the latest doings — and undoings — of the candidates on the two major party presidential tickets, local races can be overshadowed.

Still, those who serve at the local level — Cape Coral City Council, on the Lee County Commission and School Board, the new post of School Superintendent and more — have a pretty big impact on our lives, specifically our day-to-day lives. How much we pay in property taxes. What capital improvement projects get priority. How our children are educated.

So yes, this year’s Nov. 5 General Election is a pretty big one from the top down.

For those following any of the races, the clock is ticking if you plan to vote and have not registered.

The deadline to vote, or change party affiliation, is Monday, Oct. 7.

If you are among those already registered — as of Thursday morning, that was 483,694 of us: 230,715 Republicans, 109,643 Democrats and 143,336 “Other” — there are some deadlines as well.

The first wave of mail ballots, to be sent to those who have requested one, will be sent Oct. 1.

If you plan to vote by mail and have not requested a ballot for this year’s election cycle – the primary that was held in August or the Nov. 5 General Election — you need to do so. State law has changed and all previous request expired in 2022. The direct link to register is registertovoteflorida.gov.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 24 at 5 p.m.

The good news is that you can accomplish these tasks, as well as change your party affiliation or fill out an application to update your signature online in one place, at lee.vote.

The Lee County Supervisor of Elections Office also has a wealth of information there including candidate campaign reports. The site is useful, informational and well worth checking out.

If you are looking for more information on the most local of races, — Cape Coral City Council — we invite you to check out our website, capecoralbreeze.com where we have candidate bios and well as all of our Questions of the Week. Just click on Election 24.

— Breeze editorial