While comparing stories this week about voter registrars’ offices packed with people turning in absentee ballots a week before the Nov. 4 election, a colleague from another state said Suffolk voters are fortunate this year in that they have don’t have long ballots.

The point was that voters here will not have to weigh in on constitutional amendments, referenda or other types of ballot initiatives.

Although such choices would multiply the number of decisions to be made by Election Day, it’s still true that Suffolk voters may be facing their most complicated election ever.

Six candidates are competing for three seats on the city’s School Board, five are fighting for three spots on the City Council, and six balloted candidates and one running a write-in campaign all hope to be mayor. At the federal level, there are six people competing to be president, four U.S. Senate candidates stumping for Suffolk’s support and two vying for the congressional seat representing the city.

With 30 candidates running for office, it’s a daunting challenge for voters to get themselves informed.

A happy coincidence, though, has made getting informed easier than ever. The growth of the Internet as a source of information means that anyone who can get online can learn more about those who wish to represent them than they ever would have in the past.

Nearly every candidate has a Web site, every major newspaper offers some kind of online candidate comparison tool, headlines are available 24 hours a day, and blogs give everyone with an opinion a chance to tell the rest of America how it should vote.

Throw in a plethora of local candidate forums and roundtables, and there really is no reason a voter should step into the booth on Tuesday without a solid idea of his voting intentions.

Could it be that name recognition will no longer be the determining factor in local elections? Considering the thousands of signs that speckle the city’s landscape this year, it appears the candidates do not believe so. Still, one can hope that voters will take advantage of all the available information and make enlightened decisions, rather than just choosing the most familiar names.