BURLINGTON WEATHER

Polls in Burlington are open on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM at Burlington High School. Whether you’ve already voted or you’re heading out in the morning, here’s what to know.

It’s a long ballot. Massachusetts voters will decide nine statewide ballot questions, tying a record and the most since 1994. Before you get to those, you’ll vote in a long list of races:

  • Governor and Lt. Governor: Healey and Driscoll (D), Minogue and Oliver (R), and James and Kittredge (Independent). Note: Republican Shawn Oliver suspended his campaign in October, but his name stays on the ballot because it’s too late to replace him. Governor and lieutenant governor are a single joint vote, so voters will see “Minogue and Oliver” as one choice.
  • U.S. Senate: Sen. Ed Markey (D), John Deaton (R), Shiva Ayyadurai (Independent), and Joe Tache (Socialism and Liberation).
  • U.S. House, 6th District: Dan Koh (D) vs. Micah Quinney Jones (R).
  • Statewide offices: Attorney General (Andrea Joy Campbell vs. Michael C. Walsh), Secretary of State (William Francis Galvin vs. Anne R. Brensley), Treasurer (Deborah B. Goldberg vs. Elizabeth Dionne), and Auditor (Diana DiZoglio vs. Al Ozonoff).
  • Local and county offices: Governor’s Councillor, state senator, state representative, District Attorney, and Middlesex County Register of Probate. Most of these have only one name on the ballot.

Our best tip: look over a sample ballot at home and bring notes. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s voter guide is one resource, and Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts has in-depth plain-language summaries of each ballot question. You can also watch the Election Connection Special with Burlington Buzz Editor-in-Chief Nicci Kadilak and Town of Burlington Communications Officer Laura Zakrewski.

Where turnout stands. As of Monday, 5,940 Burlington voters have already returned ballots: 2,002 in person during early voting and 3,938 by mail. Another 934 mail ballots have been issued and not yet returned, and some of those voters may choose to vote in person instead. For context, 10,845 Burlington voters cast ballots in the 2022 election and 11,492 in 2018. Ballots already in hand are equal to about 55% of 2022’s total and 52% of 2018’s.

A bellwether town? Burlington has voted for the winner of the governor’s race in every election from 1970 to 2022 except one, according to a WBUR analysis. The exception was 2010, when Burlington went for Charlie Baker over Deval Patrick.

Behind the scenes. None of this processing happens on its own. Town Clerk Jennifer Priest leads a staff of five. Around 70 volunteer election workers will be at the polls, along with two police detail officers at all times (four in total, working in shifts) and two to four school custodians. The Clerk’s office has been processing ballots in advance, and 5,666 are already done.

Last-minute reminders

  • Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3, and received by the town by 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6.
  • Early voting ended Oct. 30, so tomorrow is in-person only (or mail, per the above).
  • Already have a mail ballot? You can still vote in person.
  • Questions or problems? Call the Town Clerk’s office at 781-270-1660.

Burlington Buzz will post Burlington results as soon as they’re available. The town’s results can take a while to come in, so we’ll update as soon as we hear. Results will be certified by Nov. 18. However you vote, thank you for showing up for Burlington.

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