Voting In Newton: Everything You Need To Know

NEWTON, MA — It's Election Day in Newton 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 two 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. 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 Newton are the same as they were last go round, but here are a few changes this year because of the pandemic:

WARD 2, PRECINCT 2:
MOVED FROM CABOT PARK VILLAGE TO CABOT SCHOOL

• 229 Cabot Street (at the corner of Cabot Street and Bridges Avenue.)

WARD 5, PRECINCT 3:
MOVED FROM WABAN LIBRARY CENTER TO ZERVAS SCHOOL

• 30 Beethoven Avenue (at the corner of Beacon Street and Beethoven Avenue.)

WARD 5, PRECINCT 4:
MOVED FROM WABAN LIBRARY CENTER TO ZERVAS SCHOOL

• 30 Beethoven Avenue (at the corner of Beacon Street and Beethoven Avenue.)

WARD 6, PRECINCT 2:
MOVED FROM WEEKS HOUSE TO BOWEN SCHOOL

• 280 Cypress Street

The full list of polling places:

Ward 1:

• Precinct 1 - Lincoln Eliot School, Pearl Street
• Precinct 2 - Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldredge St.
• Precinct 3 - Bigelow Middle School, 42 Vernon St.
• Precinct 4 - Pellegrini Playground Fieldhouse, 11 Hawthorn St.

Ward 2:

• Precinct 1 - Abelmarle Fieldhouse, 290 Abelmarle Rd.
• Precinct 2 - Cabot Elementary School, 229 Cabot St.
• Precinct 3 - Newton Senior Center, 345 Walnut St.
• Precinct 4 - Newton Free Library, 330 Homer St.

Ward 3:

• Precinct 1 - Old Horace Man School, 687 Watertown St.
• Precinct 2 - Pierce School, 170 Temple St.
• Precinct 3 - Franklin School, 125 Derby St.
• Precinct 4 - Franklin School, 125 Derby St.

Ward 4:

• Precinct 1 - Burr School, 171 Pine St.
• Precinct 2 - Hamilton Community Center, 545 Grove St.
• Precinct 3 - Williams School, 141 Grove St.
• Precinct 4 - Burr School, 171 Pine St.

Ward 5:

• Precinct 1 - Emerson Community Center, 51 Pettee St.
• Precinct 2 - Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St.
• Precinct 3 - Zervas Elementary School, 30 Beethoven Ave.
• Precinct 4 - Zervas Elementary School, 30 Beethoven Ave.

Ward 6:

• Precinct 1 - Bowen School, 280 Cypress St
• Precinct 2 - Bowen School, 280 Cypress St.
• Precinct 3 - Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St.
• Precinct 4 - Mason Rice School, 149 Pleasant St.

Ward 7:

• Precinct 1 - 379 Hammond St.
• Precinct 2 - Bigelow Middle School, 42 Vernon St.
• Precinct 3 - Ward School, 10 Dolphin Rd.
• Precinct 4 - Ward School, 10 Dolphin Rd.

Ward 8:

• Precinct 1 - Oak Hill Middle School, 130 Wheeler Rd.
• Precinct 2 - Temple Beth Avodah, 45 Puddingstone Lane
• Precinct 3 - Countryside School, 191 Dedham St.
• Precinct 4 - Shuman Community Center, 675 Saw Mill Brook Pkwy

For questions about voting in Newton, contact:

Newton Election Commission at (617) 796-1200 or by e-mail at elections@newtonma.gov

Key Races
The following are the key contested races that will be on the ballot for Newton 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.

Running unopposed:

Senator, First Middlesex &. Norfolk District, Cynthia Stone Creem

Represenative In General Court, 10th Middlesex, John Lawn

Representative in General Court 12th Middlesex District Ruth Balser

Representative in General Court 11th Middlesex, Kay Khan

Register of Probate Middlesex County Tara DeChristofaro

If you requested and were sent a mail-in ballot, here's what to know:

Mail-In Voting
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 city 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.