By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — It’s still summer so most people aren’t tuned in to the changes made by the state legislature this year that extended the election season for the Sept. 6 State Primary in the run up to the Nov. 8 State Election.

This November election is commonly referred to as the “mid-term” election because it falls at the halfway point of each president’s four-year term. It is therefore viewed by both major political parties as a barometer of the public’s attitude toward that administration as well the current Congress, and the voter sentiment typically trickles town as a referendum on the status of state-level politics as well.

So now that the official fall political season is kicking off before Labor Day, Town Clerk Sue Duplin informs the town’s residents of voting age how these changes affect them.

Residents of the town who are citizens can now register to vote in-person at Town Hall during regular business hours or stop by Town Hall between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the deadline day of Saturday, Aug. 27. Voters can register online using the application process on the Secretary of State’s website which can be easily linked from the Town Clerk’s page on the town website (northreadingma.gov).

To coincide with this new voter registration schedule, Duplin is running the first Early Voting session on Saturday, Aug. 27, also from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the North Reading Town Hall gymnasium, 235 North St.

All subsequent Early Voting sessions will be held in the Town Hall gymnasium at the following dates and times:

  • 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Mon., Aug. 29 and Wed., Aug. 31;
  • 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Tue., Aug. 30 and Thu., Sept. 1; and,
  • 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 2.

Permanent changes made to the state’s election laws earlier this year by the Legislature gave voters an additional 10 days to register to voter prior to an election. Whereas the deadline used to be 20 days in advance of an election or Town Meeting, it has been reduced to 10 days.

Election Day

On Election Day for the state primary, which is Tuesday, September 6, the town’s centralized polling location will return to the parish hall at St. Theresa Church, 51 Winter St. All four precincts will vote here. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Mail-in voting application deadline

For this votes choosing to vote by mail or vote traditional absentee, the deadline to submit their mail-in ballot applications is 5 p.m. on the fifth business day prior to each Election Day. This year, those dates are Monday, Aug. 29 for the state primary and Monday, Nov. 1 for the state election.

While there is an official application on the Town Clerk’s page on the town website (www.northreadingma.gov), a registered voter need only submit a signed letter requesting their mail-in ballot to have it mailed to them.

Unenrolled voters must specify whether they want a Democratic or Republican ballot for the primary as only one or the other will be mailed.

Ballot drop-off box

The red, white and blue Uncle Sam-inspired ballot drop-off box for mail-in ballots is visibly located outside Town Hall. It is always locked at 8 p.m. on Election Day, in sync with the same time the polls close. Remember if a voter does not sign the envelope of the mail-in ballot, it cannot be accepted.

Questions about the election process may be referred to the Town Clerk’s office by calling 978-357-5230 or emailing: Susan Duplin at: sduplin@northreadingma.gov.