By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Early voting for the Sept. 3 state primary begins on Saturday, Aug. 24 and runs through Friday, Aug. 30.
Residents who want to vote early in the state primary will be able to cast their ballots in the Town Clerk’s Office, 525 Salem St. The Town Clerk’s Office is located behind the Senior Center and is adjacent to Lynnfield Public Schools’ Central Office.
Early voting will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. There will be no early voting on Sunday, Aug. 25. Early voting will be held from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26 through Thursday, Aug. 29. The last day to vote early is Friday, Aug. 30, taking place from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
“Enter door number four and follow the signs to vote,” said Town Clerk Amanda Haggstrom.
Haggstrom said residents will also have the option to vote-by-mail for the state primary. The Secretary of State’s Office mailed vote-by-mail applications to each registered voter in the commonwealth in July.
“Applications must be complete,” said Haggstrom. “Any application received that is missing party ballot choice, election choice or a signature must be rejected. Residents will not be notified, and they will need to make arrangements to contact our office to correct their application, vote early in-person or vote on Election Day. We have been seeing an increase in incomplete applications. We strongly encourage residents to read the instructions carefully, and review their postcard before returning it to our office.”
Haggstrom said “the best way” for residents to return their vote-by-mail applications is by using the drop box outside of the Town Clerk’s Office or by hand-delivering them.
Additionally, Haggstrom said the last day for people to register to vote and/or change their party enrollment for the state primary is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. She said the last date for residents to apply for a vote-by-mail or absentee ballot is 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26.
“Voters who did not anticipate not being able to vote in-person due for unforeseen circumstances do have the option to vote in the office with an absentee ballot until 12 p.m. on Aug. 30,” said Haggstrom. “This is by appointment only, and only for those who meet the qualifications for an absentee ballot and swear under the penalties and perjuries of the law.”
If residents don’t want to vote early or vote-by-mail, Haggstrom said townspeople from all four precincts will be able to cast their ballots in-person for the state primary in the Lynnfield High School gymnasium on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Similar to previous elections, the polls will be open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Haggstrom will be implementing three new changes for in-person voting for the state primary. She said the first change applies to the polling layout in the LHS gym.
“We have taken a good look at the existing polling place layout, and have made significant improvements,” said Haggstrom. “When voters walk in the gymnasium starting in September, the check-in tables will now all be located closer to the entrance. Voters will then proceed to the voting booth, and will then make their way to the ballot box, which is now closer to the exit. The new layout is much more functional, more efficient and allows for more voting booths to eliminate chances of lines forming. All of the electrical outlets in the gymnasium are located right where the check-in tables and ballot boxes are now going to be placed. This has eliminated the need for many unnecessary extension cords being taped down throughout the gym, where residents are voting. This will drastically reduce the chances for tripping or accidents, and will increase safety for all voters. The new layout will also reduce setup time by approximately 40 percent, which will also reduce the overtime paid to employees for set up.”
Haggstrom said the second change applies to all four precincts.
“Most residents don’t need to use their precinct number on a regular basis, so it’s understandable that they may forget and get confused when they come to vote,” said Haggstrom. “Even with large precinct street list posters on the wall and increased signage, we are still seeing confusion. Our office decided to assign each precinct a different color, and residents will just need to look out for their color. New large precinct banners in these bright colors will be next to each of the check-in tables and will be extremely visible, even from afar. All of the supplies for each precinct will match the color. The ballot privacy sleeves are also color-coded, which will help poll workers stop any voter from crossing lines and accidentally feeding their ballot into the wrong tabulator. We also have color-coded the itemized street listing posters on the walls, and we’ve increased the size of the posters. With the help of Department of Public Works GIS Coordinator Patrick McDonald, we have color-coded the posters so that residents who suffer from color blindness will be able to distinguish their precinct color and number.”
Haggstrom said the third change for the state primary entails having the Senior Center provide a shuttle service to help residents who live at the Lynnfield Initiatives for Elders’ three Villages vote in-person.
“One of our longtime poll workers, Beverly Merritt, had the great idea of offering a shuttle service to give seniors living at the three Villages a ride to the polls if they could not get to the polls or didn’t want to vote-by-mail,” said Haggstrom. “The shuttle will pick up voters at the clubhouses. Colonial Village residents will be picked up at 12:30 p.m. Center Village residents will be picked up at 12:45 p.m. Essex Village residents will be picked up at 1 p.m. Voters will have approximately 30 minutes to cast their vote.”
Village residents who want to reserve a spot on the shuttle service should send Merritt an email at music@bevmerritt.com or by calling her 781-334-4799.
If residents have any questions about the state primary, they can call Haggstrom at 781-334-9401 or can send her an email at ahaggstrom@town.lynnfield.ma.us.
