Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/early-voting/page/2/)
Watertown residents cast their ballots at Watertown Town Hall in the Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Early voting runs through Friday. The Massachusetts Presidential Primary has begun, and voters in Watertown began casting their votes on Monday. Election day is March 3, 2020, but the early voting period runs from Feb. 24 to Feb.
The following announcement was provided by the Town Clerk’s Office:
The Massachusetts State Legislature with the concurrence of Governor Charles D. Baker has authorized a five day early voting period prior to the March 3, 2020 Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Early voting will be held Monday, February 24, 2020 through Friday, February 28, 2020. The dates and times are as follows:
Monday, February 24 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday, February 25 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.Wednesday, February 26 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Thursday, February 27 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Friday, February 28 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Early voting will be conducted at the Administration Building (Town Hall), 149 Main St., Watertown, in the Town Clerk’s Office (B-1)
Early voting at this location is open to all Watertown registered voters. The last day to register to vote, in person, or make changes to voter registration (changes to name, address, party) for the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary is Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020.
Watertown voters will have the opportunity to cast their votes early in the November 2018 election beginning on Oct. 22, 2018.
Registered voters can vote early in person at the Town Clerk’s Office or by mail. According to the Secretary of State’s website, when early voting in person at an early voting location for your municipality, the election officials will check you in, similar to the process used on Election Day. After voting, you will enclose your ballot into an envelope to be counted on Election Day. The Town Clerk’s Office provided the following information:
The Watertown Election Commissioners will be hosting Early Voting beginning on Monday, Oct.
Early voting was a hit in Watertown during the Presidential Election, but the influx of people sometimes overwhelmed the staff of the Clerk’s office. The Town Council began looking for ways for it to work better next time. There were 5,855 early votes cast, with another 796 and 86 e-voters – military service men and women and others who qualify, Town Clerk John Flynn told the Town Council’s State, Federal and Regional Government Committee Tuesday night. That made up 36 percent of the votes cast. That well exceeded the number Flynn expected to see.
The Nov. 8 election drew a huge number of Watertown voters, but there were issues with the presidential election that also featured the Community Preservation Act ballot question. Early voting proved popular with residents, and about 7,000 voters casted their ballots before election day. After filling out their voters would fold their ballots and put them in an envelope and handed it back to the staff at the Town Clerk’s office. The envelopes went to the precinct where the voter lives, and were put through the machine.
After the first two days it was 890. On Friday it was over 2,000. And by the end of Tuesday night – day seven – 3,490 Watertown residents had cast their vote during the early voting period. This is the first election where early voting has been an option for Massachusetts voters and Watertown residents have flocked to Town Hall to take advantage. “This is the first time for the Commonwealth, so we didn’t have anything to judge it by,” said Watertown Town Clerk John Flynn.
Town Clerk John E. Flynn and the Watertown Election Commission are pleased to announce that all registered voters will be able to vote before Election Day for the first time ever in Massachusetts. Early voting will begin on Oct. 24 and continue through Nov. 4, 2016. Prior to the enactment of this new law, the only way a registered voter was allowed to vote prior to Election Day was through absentee voting.
Watertown voters who can’t wait until Election Day to cast their votes for President can participate in early voting this fall.
For the first time this year Massachusetts will allow early voting. In the past, people who could prove they would be unable to get to polls on election day could apply for an absentee ballot, but Town Clerk John Flynn said the new rules allows anyone to get a ballot early. The early voting period will be between Oct. 21 and Nov. 4, 2016.