Voting In Somerville: Polls Open

SOMERVILLE, MA — Election Day is here in Somerville, even though voting has been going on for weeks in what is shaping up to be a historic election.

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

There are several ways residents can vote:

Mail-In Voting

Ballots can be returned by mail, emailed or faxed to the Elections Department.

Ballots may also be hand delivered to drop boxes located at:

• Concourse at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave.
• In front of the Argenziano School, 290 Washington St.
• Outside of the West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powderhouse Blvd.
• At the entrance to the Winter Hill Community School, 115 Sycamore St.
• At the Glen Street entrance to the East Somerville Community School, across from 66 Glen St.
• Near Fire Engine 7, 269 Highland Ave.
• In front of the Tufts Administrative Building, 167 Holland St.
• In front of The Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave.
• Near 351 Summer St. in front of the Dilboy Post
• Near 182 Summer St. in front of St. Catherine of Genoa Parish's parking lot (near the corner of Spring Street)

Mail-in ballots need to be postmarked by Nov. 3 and returned to the local election office no later than Nov. 6.

Regular voting

Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.

Please note that some polling locations were changed for the September primary, and additional changes were made for the general election:

• Ward 2 Precinct 3
• New Location: Argenziano School, 290 Washington St.
• Former Location: Fire station at 651 Somerville Ave.
• Ward 5 Precinct 2
• New Location: Kennedy School, use the entrance across the street from 21 Sartwell Ave.
• Former Location: Brown School
• Ward 5 Precinct 3
• New Location: Kennedy School, use the entrance across the street from 21 Sartwell Ave.
• Former Location: Fire station at 265 Highland Ave.

Please confirm your polling location before voting at www.somervillema.gov/mysomerville or by calling 311.

You can view sample Somerville ballots on the Elections website if you want a preview before heading out to vote.

The following are the key contested races that will be on the ballot for Somerville voters:

President/Vice President

• Joe Biden/Kamala Harris (Democrat)
• Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican) - Incumbent
• Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (Libertarian)
• Howie Hawkins/Angela Walker (Green-Rainbow)

7th Congressional District

• (i) U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D)
• Roy Owens (I)

U.S. Senate

• (i) Edward Markey (D)
• Kevin O'Connor (R)

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.