On Tuesday nearly 30 million more Americans will be able to do one of the most important things they can do for their country:

VOTE.

Residents of four more states, from gigantic Texas to tiny Rhode Island, will have the chance to join nearly 40 million of their fellow citizens who have already cast ballots for their preferred 2008 Presidential candidates in other parts of the country.

Not all of them will, of course. As always, many potential voters will choose to sit this one out instead. And that's a shame — because, as George Jean Nathan so aptly said, "Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote."

The United States was designed from the ground up as a representative democracy for a reason. The founders knew from hard-won experience that the power of the people to select their own leaders is one of the most crucial rights and privileges available to citizens of a free nation — and a duty as well, if that nation's freedom was to endure.

Presidents have always known that their power comes from below, by way of the ballot box, not from the top, by way of executive fiat — though some of them, especially lately, seem to have forgotten that essential fact.

Still, as Andrew Jackson reminded us, "The great constitutional corrective in the hands of the people against usurpation of power, or corruption by their agents is the right of suffrage; and this when used with calmness and deliberation will prove strong enough."

Other Presidents have also reminded us of the same thing over the years, because some of their citizens seemed to have forgotten that essential fact as well.

Abraham Lincoln believed that, in a time of great crisis, "Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets."

Dwight Eisenhower cautioned his own contemporaries that "The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter."

Franklin Roosevelt kept things in context by reminding his fellow Americans, "Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country."

Lyndon Johnson, in the turbulent years of the civil rights struggles, still insisted that “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

And Bill Clinton himself said that one of the first laws of politics is, "If one candidate is trying to scare you and the other one is try get you to think, if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."

In 2008, the citizens of this free nation of ours will have the right and the privilege — and the duty — to use the power of the ballot box to correct the usurpation and corruption of the current administration's disastrous reign in office. This Presidential election may well be the most critical one in many of our lifetimes. So it's up to all of us to make it count.

Americans are registering to vote this year, and going to the polls to cast their ballots during the primary season, in record numbers. Voter turnout levels like this haven't been seen in several decades. This is especially obvious in parts of the country and among segments of the population that have been greatly under-represented in recent election cycles.

That's great news for America. Because nothing is more important to the future of a free nation than the right of the people to select their own leaders. And never has that right mattered more than it does right now.

So please make sure you do your part to keep the momentum going. If you're not already registered to vote, then please register. If you're already registered, please be sure to turn out and vote for the Presidential candidate of your choice this year.

It's no secret that the Senator whose name is on this website has expressed his own preference for the Democratic Presidential candidate during this primary season. It's also no secret that he has expressed his intention to go all out for the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election, whoever that turns out to be.

But no matter which Democratic candidate is your choice for President this year — or, for that matter, which Republican candidate is your choice this year instead, though of course we here at johnkerry.com would rather see a Democrat in the White House again — the single most important thing for all of us isn't who you cast your vote for this year, but that you cast your vote this year.

Restoring honesty, accountability, and sanity to the White House in 2008 is going to be a gigantic task for whoever ends up winning the race. So be sure to vote for who you honestly believe to be the best person for the job.

But whoever you believe in, please do be sure to vote for someone you believe in — because, in the words of John Quincy Adams:

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

These are the four states holding primaries (and, in once case, caucuses as well) on Tuesday, and the number of Democratic delegates to be allotted proportionally for each — you can click on the name of the state to locate your polling place and to double-check the election rules and procedures for each one.

Texas — 228 delegates — polls open 7 am to 7 pm, caucuses at 7:15 pm

Ohio — 161 delegates — polls open 6:30 am to 7:30 pm

Rhode Island — 32 delegates — polls open until 9 pm

Vermont — 23 delegates — polls open until 7 pm