October 5, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
It’s not too early to start thinking about the Tuesday, Nov. 3, state election and accompanying local special election in Hingham featuring a ballot with two debt exclusion questions related to approving funding for the proposed Plymouth River and South School roof projects.
The deadline to register to vote is Saturday, Oct. 24, in-person by 5 p.m. and online by 11:59 p.m.
The Town Clerk’s office received Vote by Mail ballots from the state last Friday and will begin sending them out to citizens who applied for them today, Oct. 5.
In-person voting on Nov. 3 will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. as follows:
* Precincts 1-4 – Hingham High School, 17 Union Street
* Precincts 5-7 – Hingham Middle School, 1103 Main Street
* Precinct 7A – Willard Square, Linden Ponds, 201 Linden Ponds Way
Early in-person voting will take place:
Saturday, Oct. 17, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
* Tuesday, Oct. 20, 8:00 AM – 6:30 PM
* Thursday, Oct. 22, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
* Saturday, Oct. 24, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
* Monday, Oct. 26, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
* Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8:00 AM – 6:30 PM
* Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
* Thursday, Oct 29, 8:00 AM- 4:30 PM (also the date of the Special Town Meeting)
The ballot for the Nov. 3 Hingham special election – the same date as the state election – will feature two local debt exclusion questions seeking funding for proposed Plymouth River School and South School roof projects.
The state ballot will list the candidates for office and nine binding statewide ballot questions relating to the construction of single-family homes, reducing the minimum lot size requirements in places with sufficient infrastructure and under certain local regulations; expanding the public records law; state primary elections; election day registration; state revenue limit & rebate; a natural resource conservation fund; collective bargaining for Committee for Public Counsel Services employees; prohibiting the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana; and firearms regulation. (See below for more details.)
See the attached Hingham local election ballot sample. A sample of the state ballot will be posted on the Town Clerk webpage on the town website in the near future.
The Oct. 29 Hingham Special Town Meeting warrant will include three warrant articles – the two proposed roof projects and one related to the high school roof and HVAC design project, which is not asking voters to approve additional funding. For more information, go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/
A debt exclusion is a temporary property tax increase to pay for a specific capital project over a certain number of years and requires voter approval as described above – at a Town Meeting or Special Town Meeting and also at the ballot box.
If a warrant article fails to pass at a Town/Special Town Meeting, the related ballot question(s) remain on the ballot because there would not be time to remove them, but the results wouldn’t count.
The total budget for the South School roof at this time is about $8.6 million, and the total budget for the Plymouth River roof project, about $16.4 million.
The Special Town Meeting date coincides with the MSBA’s deadlines related to partial reimbursement under its Accelerated Repair Program for the elementary roof projects, at an estimated rate of 36.89%.
A tax calculator will be available on the town website to help property owners determine what the impact of these two projects would be on their property taxes if the warrant articles pass and there is a majority vote in favor at the ballot box.
Information sessions will be held the first three weeks in October, Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Katie Dugan said recently, noting that the figures related to the cost of the two proposed projects will not appear in the debt exclusion questions.
For Early and Absentee Voting information, go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/
Visit https://www.sec.state.
Message from Town Clerk Carol Falvey
In order for the Town Clerk’s Office to promptly process your Vote by Mail application, be sure to carefully read the instructions when completing the application:
* Provide a telephone number where we can reach you.
* Sign the application.
* Return via the United States Postal Service, Town Clerk drop box in front of Town Hall, or in-office.
A Vote by Mail application may be obtained online or applications can be downloaded at:https://www.sec.state.ma.
Due Date: All applications must be received by Oct. 27 by 5 p.m.
“Vote by Mail applications were sent out by the Secretary of the Commonwealth [recently] to all voters who have not returned a Vote by Mail application,” Falvey noted.
Go to https://ma.omniballot.us/