FRAMINGHAM – If you didn’t already apply for a vote-by-mail ballot but have since decided you’d like to vote that way, it’s not too late! The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot isn’t until Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 5 pm.
You can apply online to vote by mail or download an application to print out and return. A paper vote-by-mail application can be submitted in the ballot dropbox in front of the McAuliffe Library (746 Water St.). There’s another dropbox behind City Hall (the Memorial Building, 150 Concord St.). You can also mail the application back or return it in person to the City Clerk’s office during business hours.
Why vote by mail? Massachusetts has an unusually long ballot this year with nine ballot questions in addition to candidates for state and federal offices. City Clerk Lisa Ferguson says there may be longer lines than usual on Election Day because of the lengthy ballot.
If you decide to vote by mail, you can return your ballot to the dropbox in front of McAuliffe Library (or the box behind City Hall). Or you could send it back by mail, of course; but if you’re doing that, you should try to mail it as soon as possible.
If you’d like to vote early in person, early voting hours start this weekend downtown at City Hall on Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18 from 9 am to 3 pm. There is also early voting at City Hall the following weekend, Oct. 24-25, 9 am to 3 pm.
There will be in-person early voting at McAuliffe Library, too, but hours are much more limited than downtown. Early voting in our area of the city will be Monday through Thursday 10 am to 2 pm Oct. 19-22 and 26-29; and Fridays Oct. 23 and 30 from 10 am to noon. There are no evening or weekend early voting hours at McAuliffe.
Weekday in-person early voting downtown at City Hall is available 8:30 am to 5 pm on Monday (10/19 & 10/26), Wednesday (10/21 and 10/28), and Thursday (10/22 & 10/29) ; 8:30 am to 7 pm Tuesday (10/20 & 10/27) ; and 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on Friday (10/23 & 10/30).
For Election Day voting, polls are open on Tuesday, November 3 from 7 am to 8 pm. You can find your polling place at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx. In District 2, Precincts 25 and 26 vote at Walsh Middle School (301 Brook St.) while Precinct 27 votes at the King School (454 Water St.).
If you already received a vote-by-mail ballot but decided you’d prefer to vote in person instead, as long as you haven’t returned the ballot, you can choose to destroy it and vote in person after all, either early or on Election Day.
The City Clerk’s election information is posted at https://framinghamma.gov/3046/Elections-and-Voting.
Early in-person voting schedule via the City Clerk’s office:
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