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Early elections begin Monday in Massachusetts – and local election officials expect to spend long hours over the next two weeks to allow voters to vote more easily by November 6.
"We are ready," said Marie Ryan, president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, which represents local officials across the state. "I think people love it – especially with big elections, they do not like queuing."
The advance vote for the 2018 election will begin in Acton, Ashburnham and Hudson, where voters will start voting in their town hall at 7 am, according to a statement from state secretary William Galvin.
Voters will be able to vote in the community where they are registered during the early voting period, which runs from Monday, October 22 to Friday, November 2, according to the release.
According to Galvin's office, no excuse is required for early voting.
In many communities, including Boston, people can vote next weekend.
Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, executive director of MassVote, a group advocating early voting, said the possibility of voting on weekends would help more people vote.
"I think the opportunity to have more time for busy people [to vote] is critical, "said Crawford.
In each community, early voting will be offered in at least one location during the office hours of the local election official, the statement said. Many communities will also offer additional polling stations and extended hours.
Nancy Talbot, Clerk of Ware, the registered voters use the Secretary of State's website to find out how they can vote sooner.
Voters can view the location of their community and plan their advance polls by visiting http://www.sec.state.ma.us/earlyvotingweb/earlyvotingsearch.aspx.
"You can check where your polling place is. [and] you can see what your ballot will look like, "Talbot said.
Voters also have the option of voting by mail. Anyone with questions may also contact the State Elections Division at 1-800-462-VOTE (8683).
More than a million people voted in the state's first early voting period ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
In Boston, the city has posted its own early voting schedule, which includes polling station locations, such as the Boston City Hall.
On November 6, Massachusetts voters will vote in ballots for the Senate, the Governor, the Attorney General, the State Secretary, the Treasurer and the State Auditor of the United States.
They will also decide on voting questions asking voters whether to regulate nurse staffing, repeal the state's transgender anti-discrimination law, and create a commission to review and recommend an amendment to the US Constitution. which would cancel the 2010 Supreme Court judgment, United States.
Ryan, who occupies the position of city secretary in Great Barrington and Richmond, said that local election officials were preparing for early voting by taking measures such as the sufficient number of employees for polling stations.
They will also update a state voter database to keep track of voters every day of early voting, she said. The ballots cast during the advance voting period are listed on November 6th.
"We like the fact that it's available to people, but with all the work that requires and all the time, we hope people will benefit," Ryan said in a phone interview Sunday.
Once early voting ends on November 2, election officials will not get a break, she said. They will spend the next few days preparing for election day.
Ryan has advice to give to his fellow election officers.
"I tell them to rest well and it will be over before we know it," said Ryan.
You can reach John Hilliard at [email protected].
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