Friday, October 30, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
It's been a busy year for the Town Clerk's Office, starting with the March presidential primary, followed by the town election in June, the state primary in September, and now the Nov. 3 presidential/state election.
Of the town's 18,933 registered voters, 54 percent -- or 10,739 -- have already cast their ballots -- by mail, absentee, or early voting.
By the end of the day on Oct. 28, 3,707 Hingham residents had participated in early voting. The last day for early voting is today, Oct. 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the second-floor Central Meeting Room at Town Hall, 210 Central St.
There's a marked drop-off box at the end of the Town Hall driveway for vote-by-mail ballots to be dropped into by residents who prefer that method to mailing theirs.
Town Clerk Eileen McCracken is expecting about 85 to 90 percent overall voter participation, including all methods of voting. "That's the turnout we usually have for a presidential election," she said.
The "Massachusetts Information for Voters/2020 Ballot Questions" booklet with the red, white, and black cover that arrived in the mail includes a voter checklist on page 23 for those who plan to vote at the polls, and also information about the two questions that appear on the ballot.
Election Day Voting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling places are as follows:
- High School, 17 Union St. – Precincts 1 through 4
- Middle School, 1103 Main St. – Precincts 5 and 6
- Linden Ponds, 201 Linden Ponds Way, Willard Square – Precinct 5A
For both early voting and the election, all precautions will be taken with social distancing and keeping the areas clean and safe. Everyone is asked to wear a face mask when entering the voting areas.