MASS VOTER INFORMATION --- HOW TO VOTE EARLY (IN PERSON)

What could be the most important election of your lifetime will take place on Tuesday, November 3rd.  In order to help you navigate through the deluge of information being presented through social media, politicians, the media, your next-door neighbor and a number of other sources, between now and election day we will be providing you with “official” information directly from the State of Massachusetts.

Now that September is coming to an end, next month registered voters can vote in-person early.  This post covers In-Person Early Voting.  Again, this information is “OFFICIAL INFORMATION” from the State of Massachusetts.

Voting Early In-Person Early Voting: October 17 – 30

This year, voters will have more opportunities to vote than ever before. In-person early voting has been expanded and includes four weekend days, so that voters who want to vote in person will be able to do so at their convenience. With additional days of early voting, in-person voting will be held over 15 days, in an effort to reduce crowding in polling places and early voting locations.

Who? Any registered voter who has not already cast a ballot by mail can vote early in-person. No excuse is needed to vote early.

When? The early voting period will begin on Saturday, October 17 and end on Friday, October 30. On weekdays, each city and town must offer early voting in at least one location during the local election office’s regular business hours. On the weekends of October 17-18 and October 24-25, every community must be open each day. The number of hours each community must be open on the weekend depends on the size of the city or town. Note: Many cities and towns have limited business hours on Fridays. Be sure to consult your community’s early voting schedule at www.MassEarlyVote.com when making a plan to vote.

Where? You may vote early at any early voting site in the city or town where you are registered to vote. All cities and towns must have at least one early voting location, but they may choose to have more. Early voting locations are chosen by each city and town and will be published at  www.MassEarlyVote.com at least 1 week before early voting begins.

How? You do not need make an appointment or apply to vote early in-person. You may simply go to any early voting location in your city or town and vote in person, like you do on Election Day. After you finish voting, you will seal your ballot in a ballot envelope and sign the affidavit on the envelope and return to an election official. Once you have handed in your ballot envelope and the clerk accepts it, your vote is final and you cannot take it back or vote again.

Remember: Like polling places on Election Day, early voting locations will be set up to allow for social distancing. The number of voters allowed in the early voting location at one time may be limited, and voters standing in line to enter the early voting location will be spaced appropriately which may make lines appear longer than usual. Lines at early voting locations are often longer on the first and last days of the early voting period. Lines may also be longer on weekends. Voters who are able to cast their ballots during off-peak hours are encouraged to do so. In most cases, there are more polling places throughout each city and town on Election Day than there are early voting locations, which means that there may be fewer people voting at any given time at your polling place than there are at your early voting location. No matter where or when you vote, polling places will be set up so that everyone is able to vote safely.

All registered voters who do not vote by mail or early in-person will be able to vote at their polling place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

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