April 1, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
Due to Gov. Charlie Baker's recent extension of Massachusetts' stay-at-home advisory to May 4 and the accompanying uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus threat, the Hingham Selectmen decided last night during a teleconference to postpone the April 27 Town Meeting until June 22 and the May 2 Town Election until June 27.
"We're trying to buy ourselves some time and also some information," Selectmen Chair Karen Johnson said.
The new election date means that current elected town officials "will be pressed into extended service," Selectman Joe Fisher said, until the votes are tallied and the winning candidates announced.
"That includes you, Karen!" said Town Administrator Tom Mayo. Johnson is not running for re-election.
The date changes are possible because local communities, including Hingham, have been granted approval by the state legislature to postpone their annual Town Meeting and town election dates as long as they take place before the June 30 end of the fiscal year.
While some towns have postponed their town meetings to dates much earlier than Hingham's, Johnson said pushing the postponement as far out as possible increases the possibility that the meeting might actually take place. The Selectmen, Town Moderator Michael Puzo, and other town officials will continue to assess the situation.
Part of the decisionmaking and organization surrounding this year's Town Meeting will involve determining "how we would gather, how safely we would be able to do that, and what alterations to the assembly would be necessary if we also want to [practice] social distancing," Johnson said. "We may make all three rooms [at the high school -- the gym, the auditorium, and another room] available, for instance, with a limited number of voters allowed in each, and we might make changes in our check-in system." Normally the gymnasium is allowed to fill up before satellite rooms are used.
Proposed new legislation may allow the postponement of Town Meeting even further if necessary depending on how the coronavirus crisis plays out, but the new town election date will remain the same -- Saturday, June 27.
That's because both absentee and early voting will be done by mail, although communities are required to have a polling place available on the actual election day, according to Town Clerk Eileen McCracken.
"It's not possible to have in-person voting at this time," Johnson said. "This fixed date will provide a level of certainty."
Selectman Mary Power said she hopes the new, later town election date "will give all our fine candidates the better visibility that they deserve," considering the disruptions caused by the coronavirus challenge.
McCracken will provide updates to the Selectmen as soon as the ballots are printed to give citizens as much notice as possible about the town election process and when the voting will begin. According to Secretary of State William Francis Galvin, early voting may begin at anytime leading up to the actual election date.
Fisher wants to ensure that any groups, such as the Hingham League of Women Voters, who are planning to host candidates' nights have ample notice. "We want to be sure there's enough time for the candidates to get their messages out," he said.
"Maybe we can work out a virtual candidates' night at the least," Johnson said.
"With virtual hors d'oeuvres," quipped Fisher.
There will also be further discussion about when the Town Meeting warrant will be mailed to every Hingham household.
"We will broadcast all the details broadly," Johnson said.
Mark your calendars and stay tuned for updates!