Chief’s Corner
By Chief Steven J. Wojnar Dudley Police Department The Massachusetts Primary Elections are taking place on September 6th. Polls will be open from 7 am until 8 pm on that date. In addition to the State Primary, Dudley has a debt exclusion ballot vote taking place. This is sponsored by the Dudley Charlton Regional School District. It is a request for the funding of capital improvement projects for various school buildings. After a discussion with Dudley Town Clerk, Lori Smith, there are some different procedural issues associated with this vote. I wanted to take this opportunity to pass along some important information on the process to assist voters and limit some confusion on election day. There are currently three methods to submit your ballot for this election. This can be done by mail, early voting at the Clerk’s Office, or in person on election day. If you choose by mail, your application is required to be submitted to the Town Clerk. The deadline for this, or to request an absentee ballot, is Monday, August 29th. Early voting begins on Saturday, August 27th at 8:00 am. It resumes on Monday, August the 29th and continues through Friday, September 2nd. This is to be done in person at the Dudley Town Clerk’s Office, starting at 8:30 am each day. End times vary, so please check with their office for more information. Since there are two ballots associated with this election, for the State Primary and the local question, if you vote early or via mail, you can do both at the same time. The process is slightly different on election day. The most common method of voting is in person on election day. This will take place on Tuesday, September 6th from 7 am until 8 pm at the Dudley Municipal Complex. Since this election has two separate votes, there is a slight variation to the process this time. The State Primary is guided by law and people can vote during the full 13-hour time frame. The local capital improvement debt exclusion ballot question is sponsored by the school district. Therefore, by state law (Specifically MGL CH. 71 Sec 16N), voting is limited to a maximum of only 8 hours in duration. Voting on the debt exclusion question will only take place from 12 noon until the 8 pm close of business. If you wish to vote for both items at the same time, you must do so between the hours of 12 noon and 8 pm. If you vote between 8 am and 12 noon, you will only be able to cast your ballot for the State Primary. If you wish to vote in the special local election debt exclusion, you will be allowed to return after 12 noon to cast that ballot. |
This is an important logistical change for this day and can be confusing. Therefore, this is good information for voters to have in advance of election day.
Any further information on this process is available through the Town Clerk’s Office at 71 West Main Street or online at https://www.dudleyma.gov/town-clerk . Look for the “Official Tally Sheet” in the upper left of the page. For the DCRSD Ballot question information please refer to the school’s website at https://www.dcrsd.org/about-dcrsd/budget-and-finance/2022-capital-planning/capital-projects . Please take a few minutes to get informed of the process so you can exercise your right to vote as easily as possible. For those still seeking vaccination or COVID related information, it can be found at www.dudleyma.gov or by calling 508-949-8036. During these challenging times, we, at the Dudley Police Department, greatly appreciate the support we receive from our community. Thanks again for your questions and comments. Please send them to me at the Dudley Police Department 71 West Main St. Dudley, Ma. 01571 or email at swojnar@dudleypolice.com. Opinions expressed in this weekly column are those of Chief Wojnar only and unless clearly noted, do not reflect the ideas or opinions of any other organization or citizen. |
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