Westfield City Clerk Karen M. Fanion (THE WESTFIELD NEWS FILE PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – City Clerk Karen M. Fanion said 4,300 ballots for the Sept. 1 State Primary election were mailed out to residents who requested them on Friday, Aug. 7, and another 400 were scheduled to be mailed on Monday, Aug. 10.
“This is the first time we’ve done the mail-in voter card,” Fanion said. She said the postcards came from Secretary of State Francis Galvin’s office, and were processed from the voter registrations entered locally. She called it “a great process.”
Fanion said she is still getting requests for ballots by mail. Requests must be into the City Clerk by Aug. 26, and may be mailed or put in the drop off box outside of City Hall.
Voters may request ballots for either the Sept. 1 Primary, the Nov. 3 Presidential Election or both. Unenrolled voters must select a party to receive a ballot for the Sept. 1 primary. The last day to register to vote in the Primary is Aug. 22.
Ballots may also be returned in the same way, and must be returned by 8 p.m. on Sept. 1.
Voters still have the option to vote in person for the Sept. 1 primary, either through Early Voting or on the day of the election.
Fanion said Early Voting will take place the week of Aug. 22-26 at the Westfield Middle School, because Westfield City Hall remains closed. Early Voting hours are: Sat., Aug. 22, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Sun., Aug. 23, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Mon., Aug. 24 through Fri., Aug. 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
All of the usual polling locations will be open on the day of the Primary Election Sept. 1, except for the Senior Center, the usual polling location for Wards 2A and 2B. Instead, Ward 2A and 2B will be voting in the Westfield Middle School.
Fanion said the city will be prepared like they always are for in person voting, and will have hand sanitizers, masks and social distancing of six feet apart set up in all of the precincts. “We’re going to have a safe setup for voters who want to go in person,” she said. The hours for in-person voting on the day of the election will be 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Asked what effect the pandemic and all of the vote by mail options may have on voter turnout in the State Primary, Fanion said she has no idea. “Obviously, we’ve gotten 4,300 requests for a ballot through the mail that eliminates all those people going. Would they have gone if they didn’t have the postcard,” she said.
“It’s the first time we’ve had a state primary during a pandemic, and it’s the first time we’ve had these mail in ballots sent to me,” she said. Fanion said in the last State Primary in 2018, 15.5 percent of eligible residents voted, and in 2016, 11 percent voted. Westfield has approximately 25,000 registered voters.
“I would think it will be busier for November,” Fanion said.
