By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — It hardly seems possible but the presidential primary season is upon us with Super Tuesday less than three weeks away on Tuesday, March 5.
On Monday night, the Select Board signed the “Warrant for Presidential Preference Primaries” after a presentation by Town Clerk Susan Duplin was given to update the public on the myriad of ways voters may participate in the election process and the associated deadlines.
On Election Day itself, the voters in all four of the town’s precincts vote in one central polling place, St. Theresa’s Church Hall, 51 Winter St. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and there are four offices on the ballot: Presidential Preference (for this commonwealth); State Committee Man and State Committee Woman for the First Essex & Middlesex District; and Town Committee for North Reading.
“This is a primary so a lot of people are changing their party. I urge everybody to do it sooner rather than later,” Duplin said.
“If you are enrolled in a party you have to take that party’s ballot. If you are an independent (unenrolled) — and we do have a lot of independent voters — you do have a choice of these three ballots,” she said, referring to the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian specimen ballots posted on the town’s website on the Town Clerk’s page.
Duplin reminds the unenrolled voters that regardless of the ballot they choose at the primary their party affiliation will automatically revert back to “unenrolled” after it is cast. Voters in Massachusetts who want to switch their party affiliation must do so at least 10 days in advance of Election Day. That deadline is Saturday, February 24 at 5 p.m. for in-person or midnight on the state website.
This is also the deadline date for citizens who are new to town or who recently became old enough to vote to register with the Town Clerk and be eligible to cast a ballot in the presidential primary. Citizens who are at least 16 but not yet 18 may preregister to vote and will become eligible voters upon their 18th birthday. Citizens may also register to vote online via the secretary of state’s website at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/OVR/ by midnight on deadline day.
Early Voting Feb. 24-March 1
Early Voting is also in play for this election. In North Reading it is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Feb. 24 in the gymnasium at Town Hall, 235 North St., at 9 a.m. and run through 5 p.m. that day. The Early Voting schedule varies to enable evening and weekend options to voters but the last day to cast an inperson Early Vote is Friday, March 1 at 1 p.m.
Duplin said it makes sense to begin the in-person Early Voting on the same day as the voter registration deadline since it is also mandated under state law that the Town Clerk’s office be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on that date too, in order to accommodate any voter who wishes to register in person in their hometown as opposed to online or at a RMV.
Voters may also change their name, address or party affiliation in person at the Town Clerk’s office.
Additional in-person Early Voting dates and times in North Reading are as follows: Monday, Feb., 26, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 27, 8 a.m.– 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 28, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 29, 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; and Friday, March 1, 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
After the Early Voting option ends voters must vote in person at the polls on Election Day, she said. Those who are seeking an absentee ballot due to absence from town on March 5 may fill out the application in person at the Town Clerk’s office and cast their ballot at the counter up until noon the day prior to the election, Monday, March 4.
Main-in option popular
To date, the Town Clerk’s office has received more than 1,800 mail-in ballot applications. Those 1,800 ballots were slated to be mailed yesterday (Feb. 14), she said. Those applications received prior to the deadline date of will be processed and mailed out.
She explained that every mailed out ballot is documented on the computers in her office and the voter can track its progress.
“Every single ballot that we mail out of the office is recorded into the computer. We have enter when we mail the ballot and receive the ballot. This is where you can track your ballot: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/TrackMyBallot
The deadline for mail-in voting applications to be received by the Town Clerk’s office for the Super Tuesday primary is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
“You can drop your ballot off in the 24-hour box, you can hand-deliver it, you can mail it,” Duplin said.
“If you have a disability there is a link there” (on her webpage) to the secretary of state’s office that outlines all of the ways those with disabilities may be accommodated to exercise their right to vote.
“If you do not return your census or you don’t have (voting) activity for a long time you will become in active so I urge residents to return your census. It takes longer to receive a ballot; you have to prove you live in town and you have to sign an affidavit.”
One word of caution for those who choose to vote early: be confident in your choice because according to Duplin’s list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on her website, voters who have “submitted my voted ballot but changed my mind will not be able to receive another one.
She further cautions that absentee ballots cannot be brought to the polls on Election Day. Instead, they may be hand-delivered to the Town Clerk’s office or deposited into the 24-hour ballot drop box at Town Hall.
Those who have additional question may contact the Town Clerk’s Office at: 978-357-5230 or townclerk@northreadingma.gov.