Massachusetts voters will again have the opportunity to participate in early voting for the Nov. 6 state election, with cities and towns providing at least 10 work days in which ballots can be cast in advance of Election Day.
The early voting period this year begins Oct. 22 and concludes Nov. 2. Voters have until Oct. 17 to register to vote in the elections.
Amherst Town Clerk Margaret Nartowicz said Amherst is providing more early voting opportunities than required by state law, including three days in which polls will be set up on the University of Massachusetts campus.
A room at Town Hall will be in use from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on each of the 10 workdays when early voting is permitted. Lines will be organized so that voters are not disrupting municipal business when casting ballots, she said. As with the state primary and preliminary Town Council election in September, residents will need to get two ballots to participate in both elections.
Nartowicz said she is also focused on making sure college students eligible to vote are given the opportunity in Amherst.
“I see it as our duty to involve colleges and the university in our voting process,” Nartowicz said.
That will include early voting at the Student Union, Room 420, on the UMass campus, Oct. 24-26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Any registered voters who live in Amherst will be welcome to vote there, even though these polls are targeted at the student demographic.
“My goal is to have three consecutive days that will accommodate the class schedules of most students,” Nartowicz said.
The outreach efforts to students are also including voter registration initiatives, collaborating with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group and speaking to officials at Amherst and Hampshire colleges.
The town clerk’s office also had a table at the recent Amherst Business Improvement District Block Party that included specimen ballots and other information.
Additional early voting in town will take place at Munson Memorial Library, 1046 South East St., and North Fire Station, 603 East Pleasant St., both from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27.
In 2016, more than 21 percent of those voting in Amherst, or 3,200 of the 15,095 registered voters, cast ballots using the early voting method, Nartowicz said.
As in September, when the state primary and preliminary election for Town Council coincided, many election workers were needed to staff the polls. Nartowicz said 215 pollworkers were hired then and as many will be needed for the Nov. 6 elections.
All early voting in Northampton will be at the city clerk’s office at City Hall between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2, said City Clerk Pamela Powers.
Voters can drop by every workday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except for Oct. 25 and Oct. 30, when the office will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Northampton is also offering early voting on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., also at the city clerk’s office.
City Clerk Barbara LaBombard said early voting beginning Oct. 22 will be held in a conference room in the basement of the Municipal Building during the office’s regular hours, which are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays.
Though her office is normally closed Fridays, early voting will still be held during some hours on both Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, as well as on Saturday, Oct. 27, likely from 8 a.m. to noon, LaBombard said.
With clerks being encouraged to hold early voting at other sites, as well, LaBombard said she is setting up times to have early voting at the Easthampton Housing Authority and the Lathrop Community, both of which will be held Oct. 26.
Similar to absentee voting, voters will put their ballots in an envelope they will sign when complete, rather than placing them into a machine as happens on Election Day, LaBombard said.
In South Hadley, early voting will run from Oct. 22 to Nov. 2 at Town Hall, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day except Nov. 2, when early voting will end at noon. No other sites will be used for early voting.
A full list of all early voting locations, dates and times will be available from the Secretary of the Commonwealth at www.MassEarlyVote.com in the coming days.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
