August 20 2016, By Carol Britton Meyer
In addition to the candidates whose names appear on the Sept. 1 Republican state primary ballot, two candidates are conducting write-in campaigns – Anne R. Brensley of Wayland for Secretary of the Commonwealth and Anne Manning Martin of Peabody for Lieutenant Governor.
Hingham voters who wish to vote for either of these candidates can write in one or both of their names on the blank line for write-in candidates under their respective races.
“Anyone can conduct a write-in campaign,” Town Clerk Carol Falvey told the Hingham Anchor. “These two candidates realized theirs will create extra work for every town and city clerk, so they alerted us ahead of time so we would be prepared and not surprised.”
Falvey noted that unlike some write-in campaigns, neither write-in candidate is running a sticker campaign. “Stickers sometimes get caught in the voting machines, which can slow the process down,” she said.Sample ballots and other state primary information are available on the town website at https://www.hingham-ma.gov/
Voting options include in-person on Sept. 1, Vote by Mail, early in-person voting, and absentee ballot.
“Voters must include the full name of the write-in candidate, preferably with their city or town of residence, but if the voter’s intent is clear, the name can be accepted,” Falvey said.
Write-ins impact how long it takes for the town clerk’s office to announce preliminary results on election night. “After the polls close, each precinct team must review all the ballots with a write-in name and list each and every name and tally them up, all by hand,” Falvey explained. “We always have write-ins — typically names such as Mickey Mouse and Tom Brady, submitted in good fun. As you can imagine, this review and tallying takes additional time after a 14-hour day. Perhaps many don’t understand that a funny name written in as a write-in really slows down the process of getting to the results.”
In this particular election, since there could be a large number of legitimate write-in candidate votes, Falvey is asking voters to stay focused on real candidates “or other people in the community they think would bring honor to the position.”
Early in-person voting
Early in-person voting for the Sept. 1 primary will take place at Town Hall, 210 Central St., as follows:
* Saturday, Aug. 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
* Monday, Aug. 24, 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
* Tuesday, Aug. 25, 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
* Wednesday, Aug. 26, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
*Thursday, Aug. 27, 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
In-person Election Day voting
In-person voting on Election Day, Sept. 1, will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
* 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
New primary ballot colors will begin with the Sept. 1 primary. Massachusetts General Law requires that primary ballots for each party be of different colors. This change is expected to help reduce confusion when ballots are provided to voters.