WESTFIELD – At the Board of Registers meeting last Tuesday,
KAREN FANION
Westfield City Clerk Karen Fanion reported that she has received a certificate of completion for training for the 2016 elections and early voting.
“It was a very good training,” Fanion said.
Early voting is new this year, and required for all cities and towns to make hours available between October 24 and November 4, 2016.
The deadline for registering to vote is Wednesday, October 19, and voters must be registered before participating in early voting, voting by absentee ballot or at the polls on election day, November 8. On October 19, the city clerk’s office will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Registration may also be made online at www.RegisterToVoteMa.com. A license or an I.D. issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles is required to register online.
Marissa Colon of the City Clerk’s office said there are now almost 25,000 registered voters in Westfield. Since September, 800 new voters have registered, which she said is above average.
“What makes it a lot easier is online registration,” Colon said.
In Westfield, early voting may be done in person at the City Clerk’s office, Room 210 in City Hall, 59 Court Street, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning on Monday, October 24 through Friday, November 4. Additional hours will be offered on Thursday, October 27 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and also on Saturday, October 29 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fanion said the staff of the City Clerk’s office will be on hand to assist in voting. She will also call in election workers if necessary.
“We don’t know how busy it will be. We’ve never done this before,” Fanion said. “We could have 10 people or 1,000 people.” Voting booths will also be available if needed in the City Council chambers, Room 207, especially during Saturday hours.
The state has offered a grant of $2,000 to offset the expense of early voting, which Fanion applied for and has received. Early voting is only going to be allowed in November state elections, she said.
The difference between voting by absentee ballot and early voting is the criteria required. In order to vote by absentee ballot, voters must be absent from Westfield on election day, have a disability that prevents them from going to the polls, or have a religious objection that keeps them from going to the polls.
Early voting is for every registered voter. No reason is necessary.
Also, a registered voter may request an early voting ballot through the mail, fill out the application, and mail it to the City Clerk’s office at 59 Court Street, Westfield, MA 01085 (for questions, call 413-572-6266). The application may be found on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website at www.sec.state.ma.us/EarlyVotingWeb or on the City of Westfield’s website at www.cityofwestfield.org. The deadline for applying for a mailed early ballot is November 4 at 12 noon.
Fanion said once a voter has cast an early voting ballot, the voter may no longer vote at the polls on Election Day.
When asked by members of the board about procedure for early voting ballots, Fanion said they will be locked up at the end of the voting period, and included with the ballots on Election Day.
“We’ll just have envelopes. There will be no counting here,” she said, adding that she expects it to be a little more time-consuming on the night of the election at precincts.
In other business, Fanion said that she has begun working on obtaining new voting equipment for the 2020 presidential election. She said the current machines, which are still working well, haven’t been produced since 2007.
“As they run out of parts, we’ll have to get moving on new equipment,” Fanion said. She said she would like to see the City Council approve the money for new machines by the end of December, to include in next year’s budget. The cost for thirteen machines will be $85,000. She said the new machines will be similar to the current ones, with a paper ballot that is sent through and scanned.
Fanion will be the guest on The Westfield News Radio Show this coming Thursday, October 13th from 6 to 8 a.m. at 89.5 FM, www.wskb.org, and on cable access channel 15.
CHESTER, GRANVILLE, HUNTINGTON, AND TOLLAND EARLY VOTING HOURS
Fanion said that all cities and towns must offer early voting hours, but towns are only required to do so during normal business hours.
CHESTER: The town of Chester will have five different opportunities for citizens to vote early. The times were set to coincide with the times that the selectmen meet, and when the library and transfer station are open.
“Our aim is to make it easy for people to vote at the same time they might have other business in town,” said town clerk Susan Kocharski.
The Chester Town Hall is the only polling location in town.
The schedule for early voting in Chester is on Monday, October 24, 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, October 31, 6 to 8 p.m., and on Wednesday, November 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Kocharski said the town hall will also be having extended office hours on Wednesday, October 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m., the last day to register to vote for the November 8 election.
GRANVILLE EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE:
Location: Granville Town Hall, 707 Main Road
Monday, October 24, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday, October 31, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
HUNTINGTON EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE:
Location: Town Hall, 24 Russell Road
Monday, October 24, 9 a.m.to 3 p.m.
Tuesday, October 25, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, October 27, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday, October 31, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 2, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, November 3, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m
TOLLAND EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE:
Location: Tolland Town Hall, 241 West Granville Road
Monday, October 24, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1, 12 to 4 p.m.
Towns not listed have not posted hours as yet. Contact the town hall for early voting hours in your town. Hours for each town are also posted on the Secretary of State’s website at: www.sec.state.ma.us/EarlyVotingWeb
