You may vote for the first African-American president.

Or you may vote for the first female vice president.

It doesn’t really matter whether you support the Obama/Biden or the McCain/Palin presidential ticket. The two contenders are neck-in-neck in a race that could easily end up belonging to either candidate.

What is important is that you take the time to head to the polls and vote for your candidates of choice in the Nov. 4 general election. Monday is the registration deadline for people who want to vote in that race.

Waves of people, many of whom have never voted before, will be casing ballots in next month’s presidential race. We’re seeing an influx of young people registering to vote; indeed, according to state election statistics, more than 50,000 18-year-olds have registered to vote in Virginia this year.

Since January, Virginia has added 284,162 new voters to its rolls, according to State Board of Elections. Nearly 50 percent of those new voters are between the ages of 17 and 25.

It’s refreshing to see so many people who want to vote.