The 2016 General Election will be held Tuesday, November 8, but in order to participate, you must be registered to vote by the registration deadline.

The voter registration deadlines vary by state, so it is important to check these dates and also to make sure you’re registered. A free, online service that can help is TurboVote, a project by the non-partisan nonprofit Democracy Works that aims to make voting easier. TurboVote will direct you to the appropriate Secretary of State’s website to check your registration or register to vote. Many states, including Massachusetts, offer online voter registration if you are a legal resident and have a state driver’s license or identification card. You can also sign up to have TurboVote send you election day reminders by text or e-mail.

In Massachusetts, the voter registration deadline for this year’s election is Wednesday, October 19. Election-related information is available on the website of the Massachusetts Secretary of State (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleidx.htm). Many resources are available, including to check your registration status, find your polling location, request an absentee ballot, find information on candidates and ballot questions, and register to vote if you are eligible.

Disclosure: Neither I nor the InSight were asked to publicize TurboVote and Democracy Now, and we are not receiving compensation for doing so.