Early in-person and mail-in voting is now available in Massachusetts for the September primary and November general elections. These expanded offerings offer convenience for voters — and mean city and town clerks have a lot more on their plates.
Communities are required to hold early in-person voting hours leading up to election days. They have to process requests and send out mail-in ballots.
All of this requires time and money to pull off.
"You have to send them two envelopes, plus you're putting them in an envelope to send to a voter — who may not use them," said Carrie Sullivan, the town clerk in Lenox. "Hopefully they're making notepads out of them or something."
Then there are occasions when the clerk’s office has to reach out to voters, if a mail-in application is not filled out properly or there are issues with the returned ballots.
Sullivan said she's all for the expanded voting options, but believes there are areas where the process can be streamlined. There are also additional costs for cities and towns, some but not all of which are reimbursed by the state.
Southern Berkshire County, including Lenox, is hosting one of the few contested state legislative primaries, a three-way Democratic contest for the House seat now held by outgoing Rep. Smitty Pignatelli.
That district also includes Lee, where Rachel Armstrong is town clerk.
Armstrong said having the primary in September and the general election in November has caused some confusion for some voters requesting mail-in ballots.
"So, they've actually returned [primary ballots] to me, saying that I sent them the wrong ballot,” she said, as voters wondered why the presidential race was not listed.
"Because, we're not at that election yet," Armstrong said with a laugh.
Armstrong said the burden associated with early voting can be especially large in smaller communities that have limited staff.
"As a kind of a one-woman show, it is a lot — including the other duties a clerk has to do every day," said Armstrong, who is working her first presidential election. "I am hoping to see the light after the November election."
Mail-in ballots are still available for the September primary. Applications must be received by August 26. Ballots may be returned by mail or dropped off at a designated location in a given community. All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Sept. 3.
Early in-person voting is also available August 24-30, with hours and locations varying by community.
