Unlike Georgia, Belmont Welcomes Absentee, Early Voting By Mail; A Special Request Regarding Casting Ballots At School Precincts

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Photo: Town Clerk will take absentee ballots until election day.

There’s still time to obtain absentee and early voting ballots: Deadline is Tuesday, March 31

Voters who are unable to go to the polls to vote on Election Day, or are worried about the COVID impacts, may request that a ballot be mailed to them. Requests must be in writing containing the voter’s signature and are due to the Town Clerk by 5 p.m., March 31 per a change made by the legislature.

An Absentee ballot application was included in every household’s February Belmont Light Bill and just this week, the Massachusetts Legislature extended availability of Early Vote by Mail to municipal elections held this spring.

The ballot is the same for Early Vote by Mail and Absentee Voting – please only file one request per voter so we can fulfill all requests in a timely way. If you’ve already filed an application to receive an Absentee ballot, do not file an Early Vote by Mail request. Applications can be dropped off or emailed to Voting@belmont-ma.gov

The ballot will be mailed to the voter using the US Postal Service; we ask voters to file requests early to avoid delays. Voted Absentee and Early Voting ballots may be mailed back or deposited in our secure Town Clerk Drop Box at the bottom of the steps to Town Hall, parking lot level. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m., close of polls on Election Day, April 6.

A Special Request: Belmont’s elementary school students will be returning to school full-time on Monday April 5, just one day before Election Day. If your precinct is located at Butler, Burbank or Winn Brook, and you can avoid voting during the school drop-off and pick-up times from 8:25 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., everyone will be safer and more relaxed.

Voters should wear masks and maintain social distance of at least six feet and be patient. Capacity limits at each polling place will be observed: dress appropriately for the weather – you may have to wait outside for a short time.

Two Weeks To Go: Voting In Person, Voting By Mail

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Photo: You can stuff your ballot in the drop box outside Town Hall up to and including election day, Tuesday, April 6 at 8 p.m.

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman wants eligible voters to know there are three ways to cast your ballot for the annual Town Election being held on Tuesday, April 6.

Vote by Mail Options

Absentee Voting or Early Vote by Mail
Voters who are unable to go to the polls to vote on Election Day, or are worried about the COVID impacts, may request that a ballot be mailed to them. Requests must be in writing containing the voter’s signature and are due to the Town Clerk by 5 p.m., March 31 (per a change made by the Legislature).

An Absentee ballot application was included in every household’s February Belmont Light Bill and just this week, the Massachusetts Legislature extended availability of Early Vote by Mail to municipal elections held this spring. The ballot is the same for Early Vote by Mail and Absentee Voting so please only file one request per voter so we can fulfill all requests in a timely way; if you’ve already filed an application to receive an Absentee ballot, do not file an Early Vote by Mail request. Applications can be dropped off or emailed to voting@belmont-ma.gov

The ballot will be mailed to the voter using the US Postal Service; The Town Clerk asks voters to file requests early to avoid delays. Voted ballots may be mailed back or deposited in our secure Town Clerk Drop Box at the bottom of the steps to Town Hall, parking lot level. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m., close of polls on Election Day, April 6.

Voting In Person

Registered voters may cast their ballots in person only on Election Day; polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the usual polling locations:

  • Precinct One: Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room, 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center , 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Rd., Enter From Cross Street

To see the specimen ballots or download an Absentee or vote by mail application, please visit the Town Clerk’s web page:

http://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk

Belmont Will Keep Voting Precincts At Elementary Schools Despite Students Return

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Photo: Voting will take place at elementary school locations in Belmont

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman thought she had everything planned to manage the upcoming Town Election on Tuesday, April 6 as well as one can during a pandemic.

Cushman had her volunteers at the ready, enough PPE’s (personal protective equipment) on supply, and eight ballot locations with plenty of space to allow for six feet of personal distance for everyone. Three of those locations – the Winn Brook (Precinct 8), Butler (Precinct 4), and the Burbank (Precinct 7) – are located in the gyms of elementary schools closed due to COVID-19.

That all changed last week when Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan announced the town’s elementary students will be returning back full-time to the classroom one day before the election on Monday, April 5. And due to social distancing requirements and safety concerns on spreading the coronavirus, schools are using every nook and cranny have to turn into learning spaces: storage spaces, libraries, lunchrooms, and those previously empty gyms.

“We recognize that it could be somewhat challenging especially since the children will be returning to school just one day prior,” said Cushman.

Cushman wanted to “make sure that everyone feels comfortable, everyone is safe” working at those precincts. To accomplish those goals, there needed to be some thought on “what constraints and restraints we might be able to put in place to make sure that happens.”

A meeting was held with Cushman, Phelan, school staff, Town Health Director Wes Chen and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin to evaluate the town’s ability to run the election from those locations, with questions like is there any chance to move the precincts to other locations which are large enough to accommodate a very spread out election process.

But, considering all kinds of factors such as our ability to run these elections in other places, do we have sizes of buildings and facilities that are going to be large enough to accommodate a very physically spread out election process which has been done since the previous year. There were also issues of accessibility for voters and having enough parking, all the while “making sure that we could keep all these various populations separated properly,” said Cushman.

At the end of the evaluation, the group decided that it could “accommodate the voting activity in the elections at the three elementary schools in addition to our other five locations,” said Cushman.

“We will work with the principals of each of those schools as well as [the] facilities department to make sure that we make appropriate accommodations in line with any health guidance,” she said.

Here’s Your Chance: Precincts Have Open Town Meeting Seats To Be Filled

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Photo:

Unless a crowd of masked residents waving nomination papers show up outside Town Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 16, it’s likely only two of Belmont’s eight precincts will have competitive races to fill Town Meeting seats up for grabs at the Town Election on April 6.

A draft ballot produced by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman’s office on Thursday, Feb. 12 – four days before the nomination deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. – indicated that residents in Precinct 3 and Precinct 6 will have competitive races for Town Meeting. Three precincts (2, 5 and 8) have the required 12 candidates running.

  • Precinct 1: 11 of 12 including one one-year term still wanting a candidate.
  • Precinct 2: 12 of 12 including one candidate for a two-year seat and no one for the single-year term.
  • Precinct 3: 13 for 12
  • Precinct 4: 10 for 12 including no takers for a two-year term
  • Precinct 5: 12 for 12
  • Precinct 6: 14 for 12
  • Precinct 7: 9 for 12 and no one seeking the one-year term.
  • Precinct 8: 12 for 12 with a candidate for the lone two-year seat.

In four of the precincts, partial term seats – for either one or two years to fill the terms of Town Meeting Members who relinquished their posts – have not attracted a candidate.

If you have taken nomination papers out but have not yet turned them in, there’s still time. The deadline to turn in nomination papers is Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. DO NOT put them into the Town Clerk’s drop box; make sure you call the Clerk’s Office at 617-993-2603 when you arrive at Town Hall. We prefer papers turned in at 9 p.m. and 3 p.m. but on Tuesday, we will take them anytime.

Nomination Papers For Town Election, Town Meeting Now Available

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Photo: Nomination papers are ready to be picked up at Town Hall

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announces Wednesday, Dec. 9 that nomination papers for town offices are available for those who are interested in running for office in Belmont.

All candidates must be registered voters of Belmont.

In addition to many town-wide offices, 12 representative Town Meeting Members are elected for three-year terms from each of the eight precincts. This year, there are also some partial-term openings for Town Meeting; vacancies are created by Members moving or resigning.

Stop by the Town Clerk’s office to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends, who are voters, sign your nomination papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline, Feb. 16, 2021, at 5 p.m.

The Town Hall is still closed to the public so we’ve set aside specific times for candidates to pick up and return nomination papers, no appointment necessary:

  • Monday 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Friday at 9 a.m.

Upon arrival at Town Hall, a quick call to 617-993-2603 will bring a staff member out to start the process.

Here’s the list of offices that will be filled by the April 6, annual Town Election as of Dec. 9:

  • Moderator, Vote for One, 1 year
  • Board of Selectmen, Vote for One, 3 years
  • Board of Assessors, Vote for One, 3 years
  • Board of Cemetery Commissioners, Vote for One, 3 years
  • Board of Health, Vote for One, 3 years
  • Members of the Housing Authority, Vote for One, 5 years
  • Members of the Housing Authority, Vote for One, 4 years (to fill a vacancy)
  • Trustees of the Public Library, Vote for Two, 3 years
  • Members of the School Committee, Vote for Two, 3 years

Town Meeting Members for Each of the Eight Precincts, Vote for 12, 3 years.

Partial-Term Town Meeting  Members to Fill Vacancies

  • For Precinct 1, Vote for One, 1 year
  • For Precinct 2, Vote for One, 1 year
  • For Precinct 2, Vote for One, 2 years
  • For Precinct 4, Vote for One, 2 years
  • For Precinct 8, Vote for One, 2 years

The 12 Town Meeting Members from each of the eight voting precincts are elected each year to three-year terms, a limited number of additional partial-term seats are available as well.

The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office at www.belmont-ma.gov select Town Clerk, then select Running for Elected Office and Campaigning or feel free to call us at 617-993-2603, or email at townclerk@belmont-ma.gov

Running for election is simple

To be nominated for Town-wide office

Signatures of at least 50 registered voters of Belmont are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe.

To be nominated for Town Meeting

Signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe. Some current Town Meeting Members will be asking the voters for re-election but all twelve seats are available in each precinct, plus any partial term seats.

Running for re-election to Town Meeting:

Current Town Meeting Members whose term of office expires in 2021 have already been mailed a letter asking if the person will seek re-election. The deadline for returning the signed response letter to the Town Clerk is Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.

Impact of COVID-19: During 2020, Belmont’s Town Meetings and meetings of boards, commissions, and committees have been held via remote access using video conferencing technology. In the case of the Town Meeting, we also deploy our secure electronic voting system. All signatures on nomination papers for local elections must be original, no electronic signatures are permitted. Candidates will need to consider different ways to obtain the necessary signatures; the Town Clerk’s website offers some suggestions.

Annual Town Meeting takes place in the spring and typically lasts for six evenings, (customarily Monday and Wednesday) in early May and early June for another two to four evenings. Town Meeting makes all of the decisions about the Town’s budgets and local Bylaws. Belmont’s government is a Representative Town Meeting, which means that only Town Meeting Members can debate and vote at Town Meeting, unlike the Open Town Meeting form of government. Video of past Town Meetings is available for viewing on www.Belmontmedia.org .

Questions can be directed to townclerk@belmont-ma.gov or 617-993-2603