February 22, 2024 By Carol Britton Meyer
This Saturday, Feb. 24, is the last day to register to vote for the Tuesday, March 5, presidential primary, while Tuesday, February 27, is the last day to submit a Vote by Mail application.
The Town Clerk’s office accepts voter registration over the counter, by mail, or electronically. To apply online, go to https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/.
“Be sure to completely fill out the application and sign it as instructed,” Town Clerk Carol Falvey reminds voters.
Vote by Mail ballots may be returned in the Town Clerk’s drop box in front of Town Hall, hand delivered to the Town Clerk’s office, or mailed via the USPS.
As of Feb. 16, the Town Clerk’s office had sent out 3,631 early Vote by Mail ballots from among Hingham’s 19,526 registered voters.
Looking at 2020, 8,017 people voted in the presidential primary,” Falvey told the Hingham Anchor. “Certainly it was a different time, with two competitive presidential races, the impending pandemic, and the subsequent changes to election laws brought about by the Votes Act in June 2022.”
Three ballots are available for the March 5 election — Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian. To view the ballots, go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/413/Ballots-Warrants-Results.
Approximately 64 percent of registered voters in Hingham are unenrolled, meaning they do not belong to a particular party. “In the past, we would refer to this group as Independents,” Falvey explained. “Unenrolled voters will have the opportunity to choose a party ballot. Those registered in the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties will receive their party’s ballot.”
Early in-person voting begins on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Town Hall, 210 Central St. The schedule is as follows:
⦁ Saturday, Feb 24, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
⦁ Monday, Feb 26, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
⦁ Tuesday, Feb 27, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
⦁ Wednesday, Feb 28, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
⦁ Thursday, Feb 29, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
⦁ Friday, March 1, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In addition to the presidential candidates, the March 5 ballots also include the party offices of state committee and town committee. “Party town committees are elected townwide and range in size from 3-35 elected members,” Falvey said. Their duties include:
⦁ representing their party at the local and neighborhood level;
⦁ promoting the objectives of the party; and
⦁ working for the nomination and election of party candidates.
In related news, Falvey shared that a slate of committee members put forth by the Democratic Town Committee will appear on the Democratic ballot. Contact John Deeley at jmdeeley@gmail.com for more information.
The Republican ballot will host the Republican Town Committee slate under Melissa Smith (melissa.ann.smith13@gmail.com) and another Republican Town Committee slate under Kristen Arute (kristenarute@gmail.com), Falvey explained.
In-person voting on the day of the presidential election, March 5, will take place at the following locations:
⦁ Precincts 1-4 — Hingham High School, 17 Union St.
⦁ Precincts 5-7 — Hingham Middle School, 1103 Main St.
⦁ Precinct 7A — Willard Square, Linden Ponds, 201 Linden Ponds Way
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.