Election season has arrived. To help navigate through all the news and fodder NewsWise offers the following information to students, faculty, and staff about how they can exercise their right to vote.
The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 24. To help voters participate, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin initiated new procedures to give voters more options: Vote by Mail, increasing early voting dates (Oct. 17-30), and working to guarantee that those who choose to vote in person on Nov. 3 will be able to do so safely. All polling locations throughout Massachusetts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you have not yet registered to vote or need to re-register because you have moved, you can register to vote online (if you have a Massachusetts driver’s license or ID) at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com.
Or you can print out and mail a voter registration form to your local election registrar (town clerk) via www.sec.state.ma.us/ele.
Still have questions? Call 1-800-462-VOTE (8683) to request a registration form.
Several offices and questions will be on the ballot. The offices are: president/vice president, senator in Congress, representative in Congress, councilor, senator in the Massachusetts General Court, representative in the Massachusetts General Court, registrar of probate, county commissioner, county treasurer, and sheriff (the latter three offices are only in some of Massachusetts’ counties).
The two ballot questions are about motor vehicle mechanical data and ranked-choice voting. For more information about the ballot questions, please visit https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/IFV_2020.pdf.
Voting by mail
This year, all Mass. voters can vote by mail. You don’t need a reason to apply for an “absentee” or mail ballot. If you haven’t received an application for a Vote by Mail ballot, you can submit an application for a mail ballot at www.MailMyBallotMA.com.
The deadline to request a mail ballot is Oct. 28. To insure delivery and time to respond by Nov. 3, it is recommend that this task is completed sooner.
You can also ask for a paper application by calling 1-800-462-8683. The application for a mail ballot goes to your local election registrar. Doing it online will automatically take it there by listing the address of your registration.
Mail ballots will start being mailed out in early October. It is recommended to complete and return them as soon as possible to alleviate potential delays due to the anticipated increase in volume.
Students do not need to change the address of their registration to have a mail ballot or application for one sent to their college address. In other words, they could be registered at home in Lawrence, but request a ballot to be sent to their temporary residence at college.
If they want to change their registration to Westfield, they can do that online at www.RegistertoVoteMA.com or at the town office in Westfield. That must be done by Oct. 24 and may require proof of your Westfield address.
All ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 6. Complete and sign where a signature is required (which is separated from the actual ballot at the election office).
Ballots may also be returned to a drop box in the district or county where you are registered, or dropped off to an early voting place (usually the town hall), or brought to your voting precinct station on Nov. 3.
If you want to know the status of your requested ballot, or whether your mailed-in ballot was received, visit www.TrackMyBallotMA.com
Voting in person (masked and socially distanced)
Early in-person voting will be held Oct. 17-30. Locations and hours, including some weekend hours, will vary by location. You can learn the details for your local early voting place at www.MassEarlyVote.com about a week before voting begins. You must vote in the county that includes the address where you are registered.
Special thanks to Tom Gardner, Ph.D. professor of communication, for compiling and sharing much of this information.