As you read this, it’s about seven weeks to Election Day. Even as candidates gear up for their final push, there’s one chore you need to attend to this month: If you’re not registered to vote, make sure you do so by the end of April.

April 30 is the deadline to register to vote in the May 21 primary election, and we’re going to be a nag about this throughout the month, for a couple of reasons:

First, the primary election seems likely to settle at least a couple of important races: The winner of the Republican primary for state Senate District 29 will almost certainly win the seat, unless a remarkably strong write-in candidate emerges for the general election. But no Democrat has filed for the seat, which opened when Sen. Bill Hansell announced his retirement.

The victor in the contested race for judge in Oregon’s 10th Judicial District between incumbent Wes Williams and challenger Jared Boyd almost certainly will win the seat on the bench, unless something odd happens and neither candidate gets 50% (plus one) of the vote. (The 10th District covers Wallowa and Union counties.)

And the contested race for the seat on the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners that Todd Nash is leaving to run for Hansell’s Senate seat will be winnowed down from a five-candidate field to two for the general election in November.

So, yes, the May 21 primary seems to hold unusual importance for Wallowa County. That’s one reason why you should be sure to register by the April 30 deadline.

There’s another reason, of course: Every vote matters.

You might recall that last year, Wallowa County voters were asked to decide the fate of a local ballot measure requiring the county commissioners to twice a year discuss the merits of moving the county’s border — discussions that measure proponents hope could lead, in the long run, to aligning the county with Idaho.

The measure passed by seven votes. One more “no” vote or one fewer “yes” vote would have made the margin so narrow it would have triggered an automatic recount.

That’s right: One vote.

It could be that one vote will make a difference like that in one of this year’s races.

So take the time this month to register to vote — or, if you’re uncertain about your registration status, check with county or state officials to make sure you’re registered. It’s easy to register in Oregon; just swing by the county clerk’s office at the Wallowa County Courthouse, 100 S. River St. in Enterprise, during business hours.

Or you can go online to the Secretary of State’s office in Oregon to start the registration process.

Make sure that your voice is heard in May’s election. And who knows? Maybe your vote will be the one that makes all the difference.

In the meantime, the Chieftain plans to begin running its stories about the candidates for the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners beginning next week, in the April 10 edition, so that we can be sure to get all of those into the paper no later than the May 1 edition. It does feel a little weird to be wrapping up the bulk of our election coverage three weeks before Election Day, but we want to be sure that those folks who like to vote as soon as their ballots arrive have the information they need to make a decision.

And one final election-related note: We’re already experiencing a backlog in our election-themed letters to the editor. If you want to see your letter run in print, be sure you get it to us by April 30 — which also is the deadline to register. We’ll pretend for now that we planned it that way.