Voting In Brookline: Polls Open

BROOKLINE, MA —It's Election Day in Brookline, Tuesday, Nov. 3. It's also the final day of voting after weeks of early voting and mail in voting for the 2020 general election.

In addition to the presidential and congressional races, there are several key races at the state and local level, as well as five ballot questions. Voting was different this year thanks to rules approved to expand early and mail-in voting in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

If you haven't voted already, we've got you. First: head to the Secretary of State's website to check your voter status and find your polling place.

Voting on Election Day
Polls in Massachusetts are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. You can also use the Secretary of State's website to find your polling place, and your ward and precinct.

Most polling locations in town are the same as they were last go round, but here are a few changes this year because of the pandemic, so double check.

Questions

More information about the election, including in-person voting locations and requirements, can be found here. Anyone with questions about either election should call the Town Clerk's Office at 617-730-2010.

Key Races
The following are the key contested races that will be on the ballot for Brookline voters:

President/Vice President
Joe Biden/Kamala Harris (Democrat)
Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican) - Incumbent
Congress
U.S. House 4th District
Jake Auchincloss (Democrat)
Julie Hall (Republican)

U.S. Senate
Edward Markey (Democrat) - Incumbent
Kevin O'Connor (Republican)
Andre Gray (Green)
Frederick Mayock (independent)

Ballot Questions
Question 1: "Right To Repair" Vehicle Access Requirement Initiative
Yes: A yes vote would require carmakers to expand access to mechanical data for all cars sold in Massachusetts beginning with model year 2022.
No: A no vote leaves the 2013 right-to-repair law unchanged.
Question 2: Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative
Yes: A yes vote favors adopting a system gives voters the option of ranking candidates on their ballot in order of preference, as opposed to selecting just one. And if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the candidate with the least first-choice votes is eliminated, and the voters who preferred that candidate have their votes reallocated based on their second choices. Then the ballots are recounted and the process is repeated until one candidate breaks the 50 percent threshold.
No: A no vote keeps the current system in place.
Question 3: Prop 2 1/2 override
Yes: A Yes vote would allow the town to raise taxes above the state threshold of 2 and a half percent to pay for the bond issued in order to acquire approximately 3 acres of land at the former Newbury College campus of the west side of Fisher Avenue for "general municipal purposes."
No: A no vote would mean the town could not raise taxes or purchase the land.
Question 4: Renewable energy by 2040
Yes: This question is nonbonding, but would strongly ask district representatives to vote in favor of legislation that would require the state to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use within the next two decades. It also calls for the state to begin making "significant" progress within the first five years, while protecting businesses and workers.
No: A no vote would mean the town would not push representatives to vote this way.
Question 5: Legislative committee votes online
Yes: A yes vote would have the town ask the town's Representative to vote in favor of changes to rules in the House of Representatives to make the results of all the votes in that body's legislative committees publicly available on that body's website.
No: A no vote would leave things as they are.

Running unopposed:
Senator, First Middlesex &. Norfolk District, Cynthia Stone Creem
Senator, 18th Suffolk, Michael J. Moran

State Representative, 15th Norfolk District, Tommy Vitolo
State Representative, 15th Suffolk District, Nika Elugardo
State Representative, 10th Suffolk, Edward F. Coppinger
Norfolk County Treasurer, Michael G. Bellotti
Norfolk County Register of Probate, Colleen Marie Brierley
Down ballot races:
Suffolk County Register of Probate

• Felix D. Arroyo
• Althea Garrison
• Melissa Tyler

Norfolk County Commissioner (2 seats open):

• Heather Hamilton
• Joseph P. Shea
• Richard R. Staiti

Norfolk County Sheriff:

• Jerry P. McDermott * Incumbent
• Patrick W. McDermott

If you requested a mail in ballot:
Check with the secretary of the commonwealth's ballot tracker to see the status of your ballot. Ballots can be returned by mail or returned by hand to the clerk's office. They can also be returned at the drop boxes at town hall. Mail-in ballots need to be postmarked by Nov. 3 and returned to the local election office no later than Nov. 6.
Early Voting
Early voting ran from Oct. 17 through Friday, Oct. 30. It's now over.