Early voting starts Saturday in Massachusetts for this year’s municipal elections. The early-voting period runs through Friday October 29th.
Vote-by-mail is also available to all registered voters in the state once again this year.
Voters will be electing people to municipal offices including mayor, city council, and school committee. In some places there are local referendums on the ballot.
In Springfield, there are contests for City Council and School Committee. The office of mayor, which is four-year term, is not on the ballot until 2023.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Springfield City Clerk and Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola-Lopez.
Paul Tuthill
During the early voting period will there be multiple locations where people can cast ballots early in person.
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
So what we've decided to do just based on what we seen was popular and more well received in past years is do our main location as City Hall. And so this Saturday and Sunday are going to be city hall from nine to five. And then Tuesday of next week is going to be at Greenleaf Thursday of next week, we're going to have it at the Ray Jordan Senior Center, with like I said, our base of operations here at City Hall every day through the voting early voting period.
Paul Tuthill
During the last election, of course, we were in the in the midst of the pandemic, and there were some public health precautions taken at the polls, will there be something similar done this time around?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Yes. So what I have Shavena doing is working with the polling locations to kind of make sure that they're familiar with the mask mandate that's still in place. It's only really in place until November 1, currently, but because it's just the next day, we're still operating under the fact that it may be extended. We still have PPE leftover from the last election, where the Secretary of State's office had provided so much that we kept it in expectation that we're going to use it for this election as well. We're still going to have the Plexiglass that was supplied by the state in use at the different polling locations to kind of have that barrier between the poll worker and the voter as well.
Paul Tuthill
And you mentioned Shavena, tell us who Shavena is? She's your new deputy Election Commissioner. Correct?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Correct. So Shavena Martin is kind of a longtime employee of the election office. At one point she had left Springfield to become the town clerk for Amherst, and has since returned and is now the deputy Election Commissioner for the city of Springfield.
Paul Tuthill
Is voting by mail available again?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Yes. So the great thing that we saw last election was that people really took to the vote by mail, kind of way of doing things during COVID. And this year, under part of what was Councilor Jesse Lederman's suggestion, through the ordinance that he had presented I want to say two years ago at this point, was voter notification ordinance. Due to the fact that we didn't have a primary this year, we had some extra money in our budget to really ramp up that voter notification piece. And what we did was mail a postcard notification to every voter in the city of Springfield, part of that postcard was like a tear-away a perforated postcard, where they can send it back requesting a vote by mail ballot. And we have done that they would have to pay for their own postage, but people have seemed to be really enthusiastic about doing so. And we've been sending out ballots every day, probably since last week, the beginning of last week.
Paul Tuthill
So there's been good response to the vote by mail, because I know when it was done in the last election cycle, it was very popular. I mean, a majority of people I believe did vote by mail versus voting in person, right?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Correct. Correct. So it has it does seem to have a good foothold from last election. And then because we're going to be doing it again, we've already heard from the state legislature that, you know, early voting stays for 2022. And the vote by mail is going to be retained as well. So it's, I think, here to stay.
Paul Tuthill
So for people who will who want to vote in person on Election Day, or I guess what we refer to now as the final day to vote in person, that's November 2, Tuesday. And are there any changes in procedures or hours or polling locations?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Tuesday, November 2, is still going to be our normal, you know, hours of operation 7am to 8pm. On that Tuesday, the 2nd, we're going to have the same amount of polling locations, nothing has changed in that regard. Thankfully, our polling locations have also worked with us. So we haven't changed where people vote, everyone can go to their normally prescribed polling location. If they're not familiar with where they go to vote. We're going to be here, we're here from 5am on Election Day, they can call us then or we encourage them to do so beforehand to call the election office at 787-6190. And just make sure they're registered and make sure that they can vote on Election Day at their polls
Paul Tuthill
For this election, It's a municipal election historically, turnout is low and especially low in elections where a mayor is not being chosen. And that's the case this time. So what what's your expectations about turnout?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
That's the part of what we were trying to combat or trying to encourage you by sending out the postcards because we have the expectation that in a non mayoral election year it does decrease the turnout. We're hoping that the postcards will help. We're also hoping that the candidates word of mouth and you know a lot of the candidates that have races are out there we see them kind of doing this sign the standouts on the weekends. And that will drive races in those wards. But aside from that, it's just a matter of kind of beating the drum, making sure people remember to vote and that we're making it extending that early voting period. So hopefully that also encourages people. Part of us doing at the Greenleaf and at Ray Jordan Senior Center, we've seen that those are our more popular locations and hundreds of people actually go to that Greenleaf site. And then also the Ray Jordan Senior Center, we're doing that outreach directly to the senior population that uses that site. I'm hoping those two areas will also drive some of the turnout.
Paul Tuthill
Do you have a prediction on turnout?
Gladys Oyola-Lopez
Oh, I hate to make a prediction because there was not a preliminary (election) so it's hard, it's a lot more difficult. And then this year because of it going from a Presidential Election year to a city election year. I do have a number in my head but I’m not go to say ( laughs)
Paul Tuthill
I can’t coax it out of you. Okay.
