By Erin Tiernan — Erin@concordbridge.org
For Concordians who haven’t availed themselves of early in-person or mail voting, it’s time for the tried-and-true American tradition of heading to the polls on Election Day.
On Tuesday, November 5, the polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
- Precinct 1 votes at Planning & Land Management Building, 141 Keyes Road.
- Precincts 2 and 3 vote at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main Street.
- Precincts 4 and 5 vote at the Hunt Recreation Center, 90 Stow Street.
Voters who requested mail-in ballots but never returned them can still vote at the polls on Election Day. Just don’t try to walk in to vote in person with a mail-in ballot in hand, Tari cautioned.
Today’s election will determine the nation’s next president, but local races are few. Voters in two precincts will decide on a contested 13th Middlesex district state House race. Statewide, voters will consider five ballot questions as well as whether to keep U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Cambridge) in office or elect GOP challenger John Deaton (R-Bolton).
Voter convenience
Recent expansions in vote-by-mail and early in-person voting have made it “more convenient” to cast ballots, Nancy Confrey of the League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle said.
She said the non-partisan voter engagement organization is “very enthusiastic” about ways to make it “easier” for people to vote.
But Tari said the shift has also radically changed how towns approach elections.
“We’re a mail house now,” she said.
Space on the Town House’s second floor has transformed into a “central tabulation facility” where dozens of election workers are organizing and preparing mail-in ballots to be machine counted come Election Day. Tari said this all happens under police supervision to ensure security.
Photo: Celeste Katz Marston/The Concord Bridge
Mail-in voting provisions, extended amid the 2020 presidential election and made permanent, have changed voter habits. Tari said she’s hesitant to draw comparisons with the election that happened amid pandemic precautions but said, “We’ve seen a huge change” toward a vote-by-mail preference.
In 2020, almost two-thirds of Concordians voted by mail. More than a week ahead of this Election Day, more than 20 percent of Concord’s registered voters had already done the same, town statistics show.
But more options mean more work for election workers. Tari likened early in-person voting to “holding an electionConcor every day for two weeks.”
“It takes something out of you,” she said. But for the clerk serving voters in a town recognized as a cradle of American democracy, it’s a labor of love.
“My goal is to ensure that every voter who is eligible has a chance to cast a ballot,” Tari said.
Voting questions? Email townclerk@concordma.gov or call (978) 318-3080.
