March 29, 2024

Town Clerk's Corner - Voter Information

Posted

Now that the State Primary election is behind us, we will be focusing on the early voting and the November 8th State elections. This is the first time Massachusetts has initiated early voting so it will be interesting to see the turnout. It should really help lower the length of the lines on the actual November election day. The early voting will be held here at Town Hall during the usual Town Clerk office hours. We are also adding some hours on the Saturday between the two weeks of early voting for the convenience of our residents. The early voting starts on October 24th and ends on November 4th at 12:00 PM. The days and hours are as follows:

  • October 24, 25th (Monday and Tuesday)8:30 AM-4:30 PM
  • October 26th (Wednesday) 8:30 AM-7:00PM
  • October 27th (Thursday) 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
  • October 28th (Friday) 8:30 AM-12:00 PM
  • October 29th (Saturday) 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
  • October 31st , November 1st (Monday and Tuesday)8:30 AM-4:30 PM
  • November 2nd (Wednesday) 8:30 AM-7:00 PM
  • November 3rd (Thursday) 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
  • November 4th (Friday) 8:30 AM-12:00 PM

Please save this list of hours if you wish to vote in the early voting time period.  Voter registration for the November 8th election ends at 8:00PM on Wednesday, October 19th .  You may check your voter status, where you vote, and to register to vote on www.123voter.com This is an easy way to access several sites for the Commonwealth. If you would like to vote with an absentee ballot, please call us and we send you an absentee ballot application. Hopefully, many voters will take advantage of early voting. Once you use the early voting option, you cannot change your mind and go to the polls on election day to vote. Your early vote is the vote that will be tallied at the polls on election day.

The Commonwealth will be sending out the red books that explain the questions that will be on the ballot. There will be five or six questions and the explanation will be included in the book that tells you what an affirmative or negative vote on that question means. If you plan on voting on the questions, please decide before you come to the polls how you are going to vote so that the lines can move along quicker. You may bring the booklet with you and have your votes written down so that it will make the process move along more smoothly. Like anything on the ballot, you can leave anything blank if you do not wish to vote on any position or question.

This election we will be having high school students help direct voters to the proper precinct. The law allows us to use two students at a time and since there is no school on November 8th, we will be able to let some students earn their volunteer hour requirements for the schools. They will be in the lobby area and will be very helpful both to us and to the voters.
There are many people on the voting list that are listed as inactive voters because they did not return their town census. You can check your status on the www.123 voter.com site. If you find that you are an inactive voter before election day, please call us at 336-2920 so we can update you on our voter computer. Otherwise, if an inactive voter comes to the polls, they will need to show and ID and fill out an application of continuous residence. All of this slows down your voting process, but it is required by the State.

If you have children that are college students, that are registered to vote here in Seekonk, please don’t wait until a week before the election to request an absentee ballot for them. The ballot would need to be mailed and get back to us before close of polls and many times, students ballots come back in the mail after the election and they cannot be counted on the tally sheet.

If you have any questions on the early voting process or any other questions about the upcoming election, please call us. We want this election to run smoothly for all who want to vote.

In advance, I want to thank the Department of Public Works and the School Department who are so helpful with setting up the polling area. Setting up for the State election takes many hours as we set up every voting booth and map out the best flow for the voters.

Also, please know that voters are not permitted to wear any candidate pins, shirts, hats, buttons, etc. in the polling place. This will be enforced by the police that are on duty.

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