It will be a busy election year for voters, and even more so for town clerks.
On March 5, the Presidential Primary will allow state voters to weigh in on the nominees in each party.
In the spring, town elections will allow voters to do the democracy thing for local offices.
In the fall, statewide races will be on the September primary before those and the presidential race appear on the November ballot.
Each election has many pieces, from registering voters who want to participate and are not yet on the rolls to setting up voting booths and tabulating results.
It started with the Massachusetts Secretary of State sending mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters in the commonwealth.
“The town clerk’s office has received over 2,000 applications,” Holden Town Clerk Jeanne Hudson said. “Most have requested all 2024 elections, which happens to include the annual town election.”
A lot of preparation goes into the election process for the town clerks in each town.
“It is a huge undertaking for the clerk’s office to receive, stamp (and) enter data for four elections in the State’s database; organize applications by type of election; print labels, and attach labels to the correct ballot requested; seal, stamp and deliver to the post office. The office will be performing this function throughout the year,” Hudson said.
The Secretary of State is required to send mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters who have not responded to the first mailing, she said. “Unfortunately, the voter cannot opt out of receiving these applications. It is a problem that needs to be addressed at the state level. The cost to the town is rising quickly.
“Each ballot mailed costs 88 cents, which doesn’t sound like much until you multiple it by 2,000 voters for four elections. It will roughly cost $7,000 in postage. It doesn’t take into account the number of incomplete applications returned by voters.”
Since the pandemic, many voters have embraced the mail-in voting process for its convenience.
“Vote by mail is here to stay, and it’s a wonderful option for voters,” Hudson said, but added “please, if you request a mail-in ballot, do not come to the polls to vote, especially with your mail-in ballot in hand. You’ll be asked to remove the unused mail-in ballot from the polls before you can vote. Please consider the cost, time and energy exerted by the clerk’s office to track your ballot before you choose to vote at the polls. It’s a waste of your taxpayer dollars, since you ultimately pay for the ballot and postage. Whenever possible, please consider voting at the polls on Election Day.”
The voting process and write-ins also impact time and cost involved.
“If you choose to write in a candidate, please take into consideration the time of our election workers to sort and tally the vote at the end of the night. Write-in candidates that can’t be verified are tallied as a blank. The polls are open for 13 hours, but the election workers are there for 17 hours setting up and then breaking down the polls.
“Don’t waste your vote by writing in a fictional character or random phrases. It only distracts from the energy needed to tally the vote,” Hudson said.
“It takes 6 seconds for our tabulators to read one side of the ballot, and even longer when it’s folded. All the early ballots are folded due to mailing. This process will alleviate the workload at the polls for the wardens and election workers. They will be able to focus their attention on the voter,” Hudson said.
Mail-in ballots must be at the clerk’s office by the close of voting March 5, either through the mail or dropped off.
The process is similar for every community, with minor variations, mainly in early voting hours.
For more information, voters can call their town clerk’s office.
Primary candidates and voting rules
Voters can participate in any one of the three primaries held by the parties.
The March 5 Presidential Primary will feature candidates for the three main parties.
Voters who want to weigh in but are not yet registered must do so by Feb. 24.
On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Early voting options include mail-in voting as well as early in-person voting.
Given time for preparing ballots, some things have changed.
“Be aware there are candidates on the ballots who are no longer running for office. The ballots were printed before the candidate announced their withdrawal from the race. You’ll also find the candidates for the Democrat and Republican Town Committees,” Holden Town Clerk Jeanne Hudson said.
Primary candidates listed are:
Democratic ballot: Dean Phillips, Joseph R. Biden and Marianne Williamson.
Republican ballot: Chris Christie, Ryan Binkley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Donald J. Trump, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
Libertarian ballot: Jacob George Hornberger, Michael D. Rectenwald, Chase Russell Oliver, Michael Ter Maat, Lars Damian Mapstead.
Voting information
Election Day voting runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Holden: Voters can register to vote during regular town hall hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday 8 a.m. to noon. The last day to register to vote or change political party is Saturday, Feb. 24. The office will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for voter registration and early voting.
Early Voting will be held in Town Hall in the clerk’s Office: Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 29, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Friday, March 1, from 8 a.m. to noon.
On Election Day, polling locations from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. are: Precinct 1 and 2 at the Senior Center, 1130 Main St.; Precinct 2 at Davis Hill Elementary School, 80 Jamieson Road (use Highland Street entrance); Precinct 4 at Mountview School, 270 Shrewsbury St.; and Precinct 5 at the Light Department, One Holden Street.
Paxton: Election Day March 5 voting will be at Paxton Center School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The last day to register to vote or change party is Feb. 24 at the Town Clerk’s office.
Early in-person voting is at Town Hall, 697 Pleasant St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 24, 26 and 29.
Princeton: Election Day voting is at Thomas Prince School from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Registration deadline is Feb. 24 in the town clerk’s office.
Early in-person voting at Town Hall is Feb. 24, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Feb. 26 to Feb. 29 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Rutland: Election Day voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. is at: Precincts 1 and 3 at Naquag School, 285 Main St.; Precinct 2 at Rutland Library lower level, 280 Main St.
Early voting hours in Community Hall, 250 Main St., are Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 26, through Thursday, Feb. 29, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Friday, March 1, from 2 to 6 p.m.
The last day to register to vote is Feb. 24.
Sterling: Election Day voting is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Houghton Elementary School.
The deadline for voters to register or change party enrollment for the presidential primary is Friday, Feb. 23.
Early voting begins Saturday, Feb. 24, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with in-person voting continuing Monday, Feb. 26, through Friday, March 1, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.
