Election 2020 Burlington Guide: Early Voting Starts Saturday

Christopher Huffaker
Updated ·5 min read

BURLINGTON, MA — Voters in Burlington will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, 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 will be different this year thanks to rules approved to expand early and mail-in voting in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 24. You can check your voting status on the Secretary of State's website, where you can also find your polling place.

Registering To Vote

The registration deadline is Oct. 24.

If you have a state driver's license or ID, you can register online at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com. You can also download mail-in registration forms, which must be post-marked or delivered to town hall in person by Oct. 24. Forms should be mailed to: Burlington Town Clerk's Office, 29 Center Street, Burlington MA 01803.

Registration forms are also available at various town buildings.

You can check your registration online.

Mail-in Voting

Vote-by-mail applications must be received by the Burlington town clerk by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

All voters are also eligible to vote by mail, this year. You should've received an application from the Secretary of State's office ahead of the state primary. If not, you can download an application online and email to vote@burlington.org, send it to Burlington Town Clerk's Office, 29 Center Street, Burlington MA 01803 or drop it in the town's drop box on the steps of town hall.

Electronic applications must have handwritten signatures.

Mail-in ballots should be returned by mail or using the secure drop box at 29 Center Street. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.

You can track your ballot here.

Early voting

Voters have the option of early, in-person voting at Grand View Farm Hall, 55 Center St., Burlington MA on the following dates and times:

  • Saturday, Oct. 17 – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

  • Sunday, Oct. 18 – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

  • Monday, Oct. 19 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Oct. 20 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Wednesday, Oct. 21 – 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.

  • Thursday, Oct. 22 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Friday, Oct. 23 – 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

  • Saturday, Oct. 24 – 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

  • Sunday, Oct. 25 – 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

  • Monday, Oct. 26 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Oct. 27 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Wednesday, Oct. 28 – 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.

  • Thursday, Oct. 29 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

  • Friday, Oct. 30 – 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Election day voting:

Polls in Massachusetts are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. You can also use the Secretary of State’s website to find your polling place.

All precincts vote at Burlington High School, 123 Cambridge St., in the gyms at the back of the school.

For questions about voting in Burlington, contact the Burlington Town Clerk’s Office at clerk@burlington.org or 781-270-1660.

Key Races

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

President/Vice President

  • Joe Biden/Kamala Harris (Democrat)

  • Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican) - Incumbent

  • Howie Hawkins/Angela Walker (Green-Rainbow)

  • Jo Jorgenson/Spike Cohen (Libertarian)

Congress

U.S. House 6th District

  • Seth Moulton (Democrat) - Incumbent

  • John Paul Moran (Republican)

  • Matthew Mixon (Independent) (Write-in)

U.S. Senate

  • Edward Markey (Democrat) - Incumbent

  • Kevin O'Connor (Republican)

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.

Read more: MA 2020 Ballot Questions: Right To Repair, Ranked-Choice Voting

Two other ballot questions are advisory and non-binding:

Question 3: Shall the representative for this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would require Massachusetts to achieve 100% renewable energy use within the next two decades, starting immediately and making significant progress within the first five years while protecting impacted workers and business?

Question 4: Shall the representative for this district be instructed to vote in favor of changes to the applicable House of Representative rules to make the results of all the votes in that body’s Legislative committees publicly available on the Legislature’s website?

Running unopposed:

Massachusetts Senate, 4th Middlesex District, Cindy Friedman
Massachusetts House, 21st Middlesex District, Ken Gordon
Governor's Council, 3rd District, Marilyn Petitto Devaney
Register of Probate, Middlesex County, Tara DeCristofaro

Key election dates to be aware of:

  • Oct. 24 — Last day to register to vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

  • Oct. 28 — Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.

This article originally appeared on the Burlington Patch