I did something last week that I had never done before — I voted early.

The process — which is still an option from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, and from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Belmont County Board of Elections, 52180 National Road East, St. Clairsville — was easy. I walked into the board office and a woman waiting at the door directed me to a window at the counter. There, a clerk checked my identification, asked me a couple of simple questions such as my address, then printed an appropriate ballot for me to complete. From there, I made my way to a desk-type “booth” and filled the optical scan bubbles on the paper to make my selections. Finally, I removed the tabs from the ballot and placed it in the machine to be counted.

Everyone there was competent, friendly and helpful. It was clear that their only goal was to help as many people as possible to make their voices heard.

Other than casting a couple of mail-in absentee ballots when I was away from home during college, I previously had resisted early, in-person voting. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the process; rather, I actually enjoyed visiting my polling location on Election Day. I like chatting with the poll workers I have known my entire life, and I always ask what number voter I am to help me get a sense of the turnout that day.

This year, though, I decided that I might be too busy covering the election to take time out to cast my vote on Tuesday. So, I stopped in St. Clairsville on my way to work one day and got the job done.

If you also fear you might not make it to the polls on Tuesday, I strongly urge you to try early, in-person voting this weekend while you still have the chance. The line might be longer since the window to do so is closing soon, but it will be worth the wait if it is your only opportunity to weigh in on so many important races and issues.

If you prefer to visit your polling location on Tuesday, it will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Make it a can’t miss stop.

However we choose to go about it, as Americans we all need to do our part.