By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer
Region – Town halls are largely empty, but the clerks of the region’s six towns have been busy of late, settling a complicated COVID-19 quandary around their annual spring elections.
Needing to delay elections amid a stay at home advisory, officials find themselves pinned against a hard deadline — pandemic or not, they must hold a vote by the end of June.
“We won’t have a big turnout but, by law, you need to have your polls open at least for a few hours,” Shrewsbury Clerk Sandy Wright explained.
With close to 1,500 coronavirus cases documented across the region, experts have long said social distancing remains a necessity.
Special waivers from state election officials recognize that, allowing municipalities to delay both their elections and their town meetings, to a point.
Budgetary constraints all but require towns still hold their elections before the end of the 2020 fiscal year.
“I’m sure some people think we should wait until even later,” Wright said. “But there’s so many restrictions and issues if you go after June 30th.”
New dates now run from June 13, when Westborough will vote, to as late as June 30, when Northborough will wrap up area voting.
Though state and federal officials, from Gov. Charlie Baker, to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci say risks will likely continue long past the end of June, local leaders say they’re confident they can keep constituents safe.
“We want to give folks the opportunity if they choose to still vote in the manner that they’re accustomed to,” Northborough Town Clerk Andy Dowd said. “Our highest priority that day is to make sure that the environment is safe for voters and for our election workers.”
Aiding operations are a series of measures now possible thanks to regulations the state has changed.
Namely, any voter can request an absentee ballot. Thus, Wright, Dowd, and leaders across the region are almost unanimously asking residents to vote by mail if possible.
“That’s been the big push on our end,” Dowd said.
Even those that still vote in person, however, will see operations far from usual in their typical precinct location.
Shrewsbury will allow just five voters into the physical voting building at a time. Those voters will cast their ballots using pens sanitized after each use in booths similarly sprayed down the second they walk away.
Voters will interact with election workers wearing face masks and shields and, in general, will see fewer election workers.
Wright said she’s cut her staff from the typical cadre of 70 volunteers to just 50, recognizing that many of the locals who normally run her operations are older and more susceptible to COVID-19 infection.
“We asked them if they were comfortable working,” she said of her staff. “A number of them did say they’re not comfortable, but we did manage to fill all the spots.”
Moving into the coming weeks and months, local leaders have all hands on deck, working from home offices over conference calls and email exchanges to prepare for elections unlike any other.
As he’s weighing state regulations, selectmen votes, and the latest health guidance, Dowd said he’s got his eyes on his colleagues as they’re all learning this new coronavirus landscape as they go.
“We communicate frequently about our plans and ideas and other things that we’re doing for safety,” he said. “…Obviously we’ll learn from those that have earlier dates in terms of what worked well and what changes may be necessary.”
Information on how to vote by mail for your town can be accessed via individual town clerks’ websites.
Hudson: https://www.townofhudson.org/town-clerk
Northborough: https://www.town.northborough.ma.us/town-clerk
Westborough: https://www.town.westborough.ma.us/town-clerk
Southborough: https://www.southboroughtown.com/town-clerk
Shrewsbury: https://shrewsburyma.gov/327/Town-Clerk
Grafton: https://www.grafton-ma.gov/town-clerk
