Voter Registration
If you voted in the election in the spring, your voter registration is likely fine. However, if you have moved to a new home between then and now, you might want to check to be sure your voter registration is up-to-date.
If you have previously been registered to vote but have not voted in the last couple of elections, you should definitely check your voter registration status. To check your status, contact the Town Clerk's office in Town Hall, 878 Tremont Street, or call 781-934-1100, ext 150.
If you are not registered to vote, there is still time to do so. The LAST DAY to register to vote for this election is Friday, October 14.
To register to vote, drop by the Town Clerk's office during regular business hours and complete an affidavit of registration, which must be answered truthfully under the penalty of perjury. The questions on the affidavit will include your name, residence and date of birth. Town Clerk hours are as follows:
Monday 8:00AM-7:00PM
Tuesday-Thursday 8:00AM-4:00PM
Friday 8:00AM - 12:30PM
Please call if coming between noon and 1:00PM.
Note that the Town Clerk's office will be open late on Friday October 14 to accommodate registrants. The hours on that day will be 8:30AM to 7:00PM
Absentee Voting
If you will be out of town on November 5, you can vote absentee. The state allows for absentee voting if you will be away from town on the day of the voting. First, download the following form from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website:
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee_ballot.pdf
Fill out the form in its entirety. Then you have several options:
- Mail the form to the Town Clerk. The Town Clerk can then mail you the ballot. Make sure you return the ballot promptly, with sufficient postage!
- Take form into the Town Clerk's office yourself. You will be able to complete your absentee ballot right then and there.
- Have a family member take the form into the Town Clerk's office for you. The family member can pick up the ballot for you. Once you have completed the ballot, mail it back, or have your family member return it.
In any case, the absentee ballot MUST be back in the hands of the Town Clerk no later than 12NOON on Friday November 4!
Town Clerk's office, Town Hall
878 Tremont Street
781-934-1100; EXT. 150
Hours
Monday: 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Tuesday – Thursday: 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Friday: 8:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
Please call if coming between noon and 1:00PM.
Additional information about voting absentee in Massachusetts is here:
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howabs.htm
You can also call the Town Clerk, Nancy Oates, with any questions.
Absentee Voting and Town Meeting
You may also be wondering why absentee voting is not available for Town Meeting.
The very intent of the Town Meeting form of government is to get people active and involved and attending Town Meeting. Town Meeting tends to be a fairly fluid process: amendments and contingencies are offered on the floor of Town Meeting that affect the meaning and intent of the issue being voted. If absentee voting were to apply to Town Meeting, it actually offers the potential for voting for something you don't agree with, or something you do agree with.
For example, say there is a warrant article regarding land use. You agree with the article as written and printed. But on the floor of Town Meeting, an amendment is offered that you would vehemently disagree with. If absentee ballots were available, would an absentee vote Yes for the article still apply after the amendment were offered? How would you know? How would the Town Clerk discern which absentee votes to apply to the final, altered article, and which to discard?
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