Reading or North Reading residents who want to vote in the 2012 presidential election and other federal and state races have four weeks left until the Massachusetts voter registration deadline.

The registration deadline is Wednesday, Oct 17. Typically the Reading and North Reading Town Clerk's Office at Reading and North Reading Town Hall are open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on the voter registration deadline day for in-person registrations. 

Residents can also download a mail-in voter registration form on the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website. Once that form is filled out and signed, it must be mailed to the Reading or North Reading Town Clerk's Office and postmarked by Wednesday, Oct. 17 for you to be eligible to vote.

Massachusetts also allows voters to vote by absentee ballot, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website, if they:

• Will be absent from their city or town on Election Day, and/or
• Have a physical disability that prevents them from voting at the polling
  place, and/or
• Cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.

Absentee ballot applications can be downloaded from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website or picked up at the Reading or North Reading Town Clerk's office. The deadline to apply for absentee ballots is noon the day before the election, Monday, Nov. 5, although it is recommended to submit the application as soon as possible.

If you are voting from outside the United States, your completed absentee ballot can be received up until 10 days after the election, but must be postmarked on or before Election Day.

For more information, visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website, or contact the Reading Town Clerk's Office at (781) 942-9050 or North Reading Town Clerk's Office at (978) 664-6030.