Winnowed down to eight days but including its first Sunday, early voting for the Primary Election begins today and runs through Saturday, Aug. 11, at the five elections offices throughout Lee County.

In the Cape, the Cape Coral Branch Office is at 1031 S.E. 9th Place, behind the Lee County building. The Main Election Office is at 2480 Thompson St., Third Floor, Fort Myers. Other branch locations include offices in south county, Bonita Springs and Lehigh.

Hours for early voting are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and registered voters may cast a ballot at any location.

Election Day is Aug. 14 and polls throughout the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Don’t let the fact that it’s a primary lull you into postponing your vote until November. There are more than 200 candidates seeking office and, for many races, it’s a pivotal election.

The two school board races are non-partisan and countywide, meaning every registered voter can cast a ballot, no matter party affiliation, no matter the district in which they live. The four 20th Circuit judicial races are non-partisan, everyone votes races, as well.

Among the partisan primaries – all Republican at the local level – there are numerous key races including three county commission seats, Lee County Clerk of Courts and Lee County Sheriff. If your candidate of choice is on the primary ballot, this may be your only opportunity to show support.

For those still seeking information on the primary, the races, and the candidates, you may find election information both online and in print. Today’s Breeze includes an election wrapup with photos and mini-bios of candidates in key local races. Online, readers may find all of our election stories consolidated under Election 2012 here at cape-coral-daily-breeze.com .

We invite you to read. And we urge you to vote. Primary elections do matter.

– Breeze editorial