February 26, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
In addition to in-person voting on Town Election Day — Saturday, April 29, early Vote by Mail is also an option, Town Clerk Carol Falvey told the Hingham Anchor. Early in-person voting will not be available.
The VOTES Act — signed into law on June 22, 2022 — allows several of the temporary voting options that were put into place during the pandemic permanent, including voting by mail. The Act also expands but does not require early voting options to be implemented.
Unlike in 2022, Vote by Mail applications will NOT be mailed out by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. To request an application and for further details about vote by mail and absentee ballots, see https://www.hingham-ma.gov/956/Early-Voting-and-Absentee-Voting. 2023 Vote by Mail applications are also available in the Town Clerk’s Office.
Absentee voters use the same ballots as early voters and have the same deadlines for returning their ballots. Falvey noted, “Most voters who qualify for an absentee ballot can choose instead to apply for an early vote by mail ballot [if they wish to do so].”
There are certain times that an absentee ballot application is needed. Visit the website link above for further details.
Vote by Mail applications may be dropped off in the Town Clerk Drop Box in front of Hingham Town Hall, 210 Central St., or mailed to: Hingham Town Clerk, 210 Central St., Hingham MA 02043.
The deadline to submit a Vote by Mail Application is Monday, April 24, 2023, “but we recommend submitting in advance of that deadline,” Falvey said.
Citizens with questions may call the Town Clerk’s Office at (781) 741-1410.