Published November 1, 2018

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — It’s time. Time to put away the vitriol and the rhetoric and the grandstanding, and get thee to your polling place next Tuesday, November 6.

For those who have an opinion to express on the current state of affairs in our commonwealth and our country – whether right, left, centrist or somewhere in between – now is the time to exercise the right enshrined in your citizenship and vote your conscience in the biennial state election.

The town uses a centralized polling location for all four precincts at the St. Theresa Church Parish Hall, 51 Winter St. (Rte. 62). The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Contested races

Among the contested races in this mid-term election are a senator’s seat and a representative’s seat in Congress and the positions of governor and lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor and councillor.

Incumbent Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, faces a challenge from Republican candidate Geoff Diehl and Independent Shiva Ayyadurai.

LOTS OF SIGNAGE around Town Hall, including this sandwich board sign, has been used by the Town Clerk’s office to direct voters to the special polling room open to all of the town’s registered voters during the two-week early voting period that began Oct. 22. Early voting ends Friday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. (Maureen Doherty Photo)

In the governor’s race, incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito face a challenge from Republicans Jay Gonzalez and Quentin Palfrey.

Attorney General Maura Healey, an incumbent Democrat, faces a challenge from James R. Mannion III, a Republican.

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg seeks to retain her seat. She faces challenges from Republican Keiko M. Orrall and Green Rainbow candidate Jamie Guerin. 

In the race for auditor, incumbent Suzanne Bump, a Democrat, features three opponents: Helen Brady, a Republican; Daniel Fishman, a Libertarian; and Edward J. Stamas of the Green-Rainbow party.

Congressman Seth Moulton, a Democrat, is being challenged for this seat by Republican Joseph S. Schneider and Independent Mary Jean Charbonneau.

The last contested race is for councillor. Democrat Eileen Duff faces off against Republican Richard A. Baker and Libertarian Marc C. Mercier.

The remaining office holders on the ballot do not face any challengers, including:

• State Senator in the General Court: Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), the current Senate Minority Leader;

• State Representative in the General Court: Republican Bradley H. Jones Jr. (R-North Reading), the House Minority Leader;

• Maria Curatone, who is running uncontested for Register of Deeds;

• Michael A. Sullivan, who is running uncontested for Clerk of the Courts.

Voters to weigh in on three ballot questions

Question 1 asks voters to decide whether nurse staffing ratios at hospitals and other health care facilities should be mandated by law, per numbers specified in the petition according to levels the authors of this question claim to be the minimum necessary in emergency room care, ICU patients, labor, delivery and post-partum maternity and newborn care, psychiatric care and other areas of treatment.

It also establishes a means to fine facilities that do not comply with such stated ratios of up to $25,000 per day, among other requirements. It is the lengthiest of the three questions and has sparked the most debate from both sides. A yes vote would enact the law effective Jan. 1, 2019; a no vote would make no changes in current law.

Question 2 seeks to establish a 15-member citizens’ commission that would recommend potential amendments to the U.S. Constitution “to establish that corporations do not have the same constitutional rights as people” and that “campaign contributions and expenditures” may be regulated. It is in response to the Citizens United 5-4 Supreme Court decision. A yes vote creates this commission. A no vote would not create a commission.

Question 3 is a referendum on an existing state law passed by the state Legislature in July 2016 to keep in place certain protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in places of public accommodation, resorts or amusements such as restrooms, hotels, restaurants, sports facilities, hospitals, etc. A “yes” vote would keep in place the current law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. A “no” vote would repeal this provision.

Early voting popular

With a population just north of 15,700 in North Reading, there were 11,238 registered voters eligible to participate in this election as of the October 17 voter registration deadline. And for the second time in state history, early voting has been offered to all voters thanks to the Election Reform Bill signed into law in May 2014. The first use of early voting was during the 2016 state election, a presidential election year.

Early voting, sometimes called “no excuse” absentee voting, is open to all registered voters in the state. State law requires that it be held for two weeks prior to the election, which means there are two days remaining in that cycle, today and tomorrow, until the close of business at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2 when an early vote may be cast.

According to Town Clerk Barbara Stats, at total of 1,330 voters had cast their ballots by the end of the eighth early voting session on Tuesday, Oct. 30, which represents 11.83% of the electorate. While the final three days of early voting are not reflected in this tally, by contrast, in 2016, a total of 3,498 voters (31%) had taken advantage of it.

It is important to note that none of the early voting ballots cast are tallied until election day. Each early voter submits a sealed envelope containing his or her ballot to the poll worker upon exiting the polls. All ballots are kept in a secure location until election day when the bins are transported to the polls and election workers open them and run them through the voting machines in public.

During the 2016 presidential election Stats set up teams of poll workers on the stage in the church hall where they opened the envelopes in public. Whenever there was a lull in voting the poll workers ran these ballots through the voting machine that matched the voter’s precinct.

By far the busiest early voting day was Tuesday, Oct. 30 when 322 ballots were cast. It was also one of three days during which the town offered extended voting hours beyond the regular town hall hours. 

Early voters are checked in electronically, just as they do when they attend Town Meeting and verbally offer their name and address to the poll worker. An option is given to allow one’s ID or driver’s license to be scanned to expedite this process; however, Stats stressed that none of this information is retained in the system. It is merely an option available to voters.