The 2016 presidential race officially kicked off Monday night in Iowa, but it’s only going to ramp up speed heading into next month’s SEC primary.

Monday’s results were somewhat surprising, with Republican Donald Trump limping home second and Bernie Sanders ending the night neck and neck with Hillary Clinton on the democratic side. Experts will argue the biggest winners day and night, or at least until the race moves to New Hampshire.

In Alabama, the biggest winner Monday was the people.

Secretary of State John Merrill announced Monday that electronic voter registration is now across the state of Alabama. Online registration makes it much easier for people to sign-up to vote before the March 1 primary.

The deadline to register for online registration is Feb. 15.

“One of the most fundamental rights we as Americans are afforded is our right to vote,” Merrill said. “It is incumbent upon us as election officials to leverage technology wherever we can to facilitate the voting process.”

Online registration makes it much more convenient for people to find time to fill out the paperwork required to cast a vote and will likely increase voter turnout. There’s never been a quality excuse not to register to vote, but now there’s really not a reason.

Registering is as simple as taking a few minutes on a computer. Voters can register online at www.alabamavotes.gov.