Barnstable County voters should be on the lookout for mail-in ballot applications

Barnstable County voters will soon receive applications for vote-by-mail ballots, as the Secretary of State’s office and town clerks across Cape Cod prepare for September’s primary election.

Secretary of State William Galvin, who is facing a primary challenge from Democrat Tanisha Sullivan, told the Times on Thursday that his office prioritized getting the applications for vote-by-mail ballots to Barnstable County voters in particular, as Cape towns have had some of the state's highest rates of mail-in voting in recent elections.

Barnstable Town Clerk Ann Quirk said voters interested in mail-in voting should be on the lookout for the postcard-style applications over the next few days.

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Voters who want a mail-in ballot should sign the postcards, which are pre-stamped and pre-addressed, and deposit them in the mail, where they will make their way to local town clerks. The clerks will then process the applications and mail the requested ballots to voters.

“We can’t process the applications without a signature,” Quirk said.

GOP loses lawsuit over mail-in ballots

Galvin is spreading the word about the arrival of mail-in voting applications in the wake of his recent Supreme Judicial Court victory over Massachusetts Republican Party leaders challenging the legality of the VOTES Act, which allows Massachusetts residents to vote early by mail for any reason. Rayla Campbell, who is running for Galvin's seat as a Republican, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, along with Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Jim Lyons.

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The court, acknowledging the fast-approaching state primary, released an order on July 11 siding with Galvin and rejecting the state GOP's challenge, writing in part, "Although time constraints dictate the issuance of an immediate order, a full opinion explaining the court's reasoning will follow in due course."

Lyons, following in the steps of Republicans nationwide pushing for restrictions on mail-in voting, said he will appeal parts of the case that relate to federal law to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Check your new voting precinct

Quirk said voters should begin preparing now for the Sept. 6 state primary, as well as special elections in the town of Barnstable, by figuring out their voting precinct. Many Barnstable voters, though not all, will be assigned a new precinct this year because of redistricting done in response to the 2020 U.S. Census.

To figure out whether your voting precinct has changed, Quirk said, visit the Secretary of State’s website, which has an online form to learn which precinct they are voting in, which polling location they should vote at, the contact information for the local clerk’s office, as well as other election-related information.

The full link can be found here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/WhereDoIVote

Alternatively, voters with questions about elections can call their town clerk’s office. In Barnstable, that phone number is 508-862-4044.

The last day to register to vote in the Sept. 6 state primary and the Barnstable special elections in Precinct 3 and Precinct 5 is Aug. 27.

Only people who have moved to Barnstable, changed their address or changed their names need to register to vote with the clerk’s office before that date, Quirk said. People who are registered don’t have to re-register.

To learn more about state primary races and candidates, visit the Secretary of State’s website.

Contact Jeannette Hinkle at jhinkle@capecodonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Mail-in ballot applications sent to Barnstable County voters