Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th. Watertown will have a municipal election with two contested races: City Council President (2 candidates for 1 slot) and School Committee (5 candidates for 3 slots). The other races are uncontested.
Per a Massachusetts statute, residents who do not complete a city census are marked as “INACTIVE” on the election roll. This status does not preclude you from voting. You can vote and do not need to show an ID to vote. There are very few circumstances in Massachusetts in which you need to provide ID to vote. If anyone, besides poll workers, mentions the need for voter ID, then walk away. They are uninformed or dishonest.
Vote by Mail is available to all Massachusetts voters. However, the state does not send applications for municipal elections. To exercise this option, you must submit a signed application to the City Clerk’s office by mail, drop box (on the left side of City Hall, facing Saltonstall Park) or in person. The application must reach the office by 5PM on the 5th business day before Election Day (Tuesday, October 31st). Application: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/download/vote-by-mail-applications/vote-by-mail-paper-application-2023.pdf
Massachusetts has made Early In-Person Voting mandatory for state and federal elections and optional for municipal elections. Watertown will have Early In-Person this election at City Hall on the following times and dates.
- Tuesday, October 31, 2023 from 10 am-4 pm
- Wednesday, November 1, 2023 from 10 am-4 pm
- Thursday, November 2, 2023 from 8 am-4 pm
Check your voter registration status at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx
To register to vote, visit the City Clerk’s Office or go online: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/OVR/Pages/CheckEligibility.aspx?&Action=Register
The deadline to register to vote in any election is ten days prior to the date of the election (Saturday, October 28th).
If you are a person with disabilities not only do you have the right to vote, but you can choose who can assist you with voting at a polling location.
If you have problems exercising your right to vote, then call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
Lastly, be nice to the poll workers. They work very hard!!
Rita Colafella
Cuba Streeet
Submit letters to the editor to watertownmanews@gmail.com
Thanks for this information and especially your comment about the poll workers. I manage elections in another community and I can’t say enough about how hard they do work. It’s particularly challenging these days with so much of the misinformation about how elections work.