Go vote! It’s easier than ever.

I’m an early-voting convert. Surprising, even to me because I was a dedicated Election-Day voter for all of my previous voting life. I looked forward to casting my ballot with my neighbors and other residents in Cambridge’s Ward 10, even if there were long lines and bad weather. My excitement about exercising this vital role of citizenship stems from my parents’ lifelong active participation. They took my sister and me to the polls with them from the time we could walk. Later, when we were old enough to vote, we naturally continued to follow their example. There are several studies confirming that parents or parental figures taking their kids to the polls virtually guarantees that the kids will pick up the voting habit.

It took a pandemic to force adjustments to the voting process, allowing 2020 voters to avoid physical contact for safety’s sake. Prior to that, voters had to have an excuse to request an absentee ballot — as I did years ago when I was going to be out of town on election day. It was a little odd to go to the election office at Cambridge City Hall before everyone else. And weird to fill in my ballot in a tiny space behind a privacy screen, and hand it over to the somewhat bored clerk.

Even though I miss the energetic vibe of Election Day, I’m now a committed early voter. I supported the VOTES Act passed by the state Legislature this past June making both early in-person voting and mail-in ballots permanent. And I enjoyed the privilege of having several days to decide when I would head to my polling place. I finally chose Wednesday during the first of the two-week early voting period for the Nov. 8 election. I was in good company. The parking lot was full and there was a steady stream of people coming in. Not a river, more like a brook, but steady.

According to Secretary of State William Galvin, one million Massachusetts residents cast ballots in September’s primary election, and most voted early. Does early voting stimulate more voters to go to the polls, or merely draw committed voters like me in earlier? A recent New York Times report suggests it does both. The Times points to a “sea change of voter attitudes” driving high turnout and “a surge of voters” casting ballots early. The Times notes this as an indicator of “a significant shift” in voting behavior, writing, “Election Day has become, and will most likely always be, election month.”

But election month will require a large corps of election workers to do the paid and volunteer jobs that keep the polling places functioning. And right now, across the nation, those workers are headed for the exits, afraid of being the target of violence-prone partisans.

I’m always afraid that voters will sit it out on Election Day, claiming their vote doesn’t matter. I fervently hope millions of Americans are, instead, galvanized to vote tomorrow. To paraphrase a popular political ad, voters need to vote as if their democracy depends on it, because it does.