Town Clerk's Office Prepares for State Primary Election

The Massachusetts State Primary is coming up on September 3; early and mail-in voting have already been happening.

Much goes into ensuring ballots are counted accurately, and this week will see Burlington's Election Office following state law to be sure all requirements are met in advance of the big day.

First up is the machine test on Monday. State law requires municipalities to create and test a "test deck" of 50 or more ballots for each voting method, modeled after one prepared by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, to test the computer program and be sure it's working properly and accurately. In the case of a primary, a test deck must be created and tested for each political party. This process will occur starting at 10:00 on Monday morning, August 26, in the Town Hall Main Hearing Room.

Also on the agenda for this week is opening and processing of ballots in advance of the primary. This is authorized by "The Votes Act" and will entail placing ballots into a tabulator; these results won't be announced until after the polls close on Election Day, when they'll be added to Election Day results. Advance processing will be happening on Tuesday, August 27, thru Thursday, August 29, and possibly also Monday, September 2, at 10:00 AM, also in the Town Hall Main Hearing Room.

Both the testing and advance tabulation will be open for public observation. If you would like to observe the advance removal and/or depositing of ballots, the Town Clerk's Office asks that you contact them at 781-270-1660.

Finally, election workers will be trained on Wednesday, August 28, at the Town Hall Annex at 6:00 PM. This mandatory training  will ensure poll workers know how to check in voters, distribute ballots, tally votes, and help voters.

The State Primary will be held on September 3 at Burlington High School from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM; you can also vote early in person and by mail. There are three Republican candidates for U.S. Senator on the Republican Ballot. Also, as the Buzz has reported, the race for Governor's Council in Burlington's District is contested with Mara Dolan challenging 25-year Councillor Marilyn Pettito Devaney for the nomination. To see the Democratic or Republican primary ballot, enter your address at the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website. If you're unenrolled into a political party, you may vote in either primary.