March 29, 2024

From the Town Clerk

Posted

 It's hard to believe September is here already. By the time you read this issue the September Primary Election will be over and we will be busy getting ready for the State Election in November. The results of the Primary will be published in the October issue of the reporter as well as on the Town Clerk’s website page.

This year the State passed into law that early voting (EV) by mail must be available for all state elections, state primaries, and presidential primaries.  As a result, Secretary of State William Galvin’s office sent millions of registered voters across Massachusetts a postcard vote-by-mail ballot application. This allowed registered voters to request ballots for the September 6th primary and the November 8th general election. To date, Seekonk has received over 1,700 applications to receive a state primary and November election ballot. I’m sure for the November election we will have more than 2,000 early voting ballot requests.

Processing these EV ballots involves a lot of data entry, collating ballot materials, printing mailing labels and stuffing thousands of envelopes with the appropriate ballots. Once people received, fill out and return their ballot the work is still not done. We have to input received ballot information, in the state computer, then process them through the ballot box. Lorraine and I have been and will continue to be vigilant with our attention to detail, in order to maintain the integrity of a fair election.

We also offered one week of early voting at the Town Hall before the State Primary. I’d like to thank the poll workers, registrars, the Seekonk post office and others who helped get the thousands of ballots out to the citizens of Seekonk in a timely manner. Vote-by-mail is here to stay and the more elections we do the more comfortable we get with it, even though it can be a challenging process. We know what to expect and are ready for the November 6th election. 

November 8th state election information
There will be a second round of postcard vote-by-mail applications sent by the state in September. They will be sent to all registered voters who have NOT already applied to receive a ballot and sent to people who registered to vote after August 27, 2022. To ensure timely delivery of your ballot, it is recommended that you request a November ballot no later than October 17. Apply early, in order to have enough time to return your ballot.

If you have already sent in your postcard to receive a ballot and checked off wanting a ballot for both elections, or for November only, your request has been registered and you will get a November 6, 2022 ballot in the mail. Do not request another one by mail. Please note ballots for the November election will not be printed by the State until the end of September. Once we receive these ballots, we will send them out to all voters who requested mail-in ballots, or absentee ballots.

To return your vote-by-mail ballot you can either mail it back, place it in the drop-box in front of Town Hall, or hand deliver it to the Town Clerk’s office.

If you are not a registered voter and would like to register, please go to www.sec.state.ma.us . This website has everything you need to know about voting in the State of Massachusetts. The deadline to register for the November election is October 29th.  You can also come in to the Town Clerk’s office and register to vote in person.

There will be in-person voting on election day. All precincts vote at the Seekonk High School - 261 Arcade Ave. Polls open at 7:00AM and close at 8:00PM.

There will also be two weeks of early voting held at the Town Hall – 100 Peck St. Board of selectman’s meeting room. See the schedule below.

November 8, 2022 State Election - Early Voting Schedule
*Please note the above dates are subject to change.

The September 11th – 21st remembrance will be held, Sunday September 11, at 11:00am at the Public Safety Complex. No matter how many years go by it is always important that we never forget.

The Fall Town Meeting date has been set for November 14, 2022. It will be held at the High School auditorium starting at 7PM.

A friendly reminder that trash bills will be sent out in September and are due in October.

Have a wonderful September stay well. If you have any questions or concerns, please so do not hesitate to call the Town Clerk’s Office. 508-336-2920 or email us fcraig@seekonk-ma.gov or lsorel@seekonk-ma.gov  

Florice Craig, Town Clerk & Lorraine Sorel, Assistant Town Clerk

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