Politics & Government

Special Election Day: What You Need To Know

While Brownsberger is running unopposed, a last-minute Republican sticker challenger has appeared.

It's election day in Belmont as voters will cast ballots in the special general election to fill the vacant state senate seat in the Second Suffolk and Middlesex district.

And while Belmont's Will Brownsberger will be the only name on the ballot, Tommasina Anne Olson from Bay State Road, the town's Republican chairman, will run a last-minute sticker challenge to the eventual winner. 

Time

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Polling places open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Transportation to the polls

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The League of Women Voters of Belmont is offering rides to the polls from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 617-771-8500 to schedule transportation.

Questions about or during voting

In the last casting of ballots in December, nearly 4,000 potential voters needed to hand over ID and fill out paperwork since they did not hand in a town census earlier in the year. So there is a chance that voters could be challenge.

Most questions – including who is eligible to vote in Belmont – during voting can be answered by the precinct warden at the polling station. Other questions should be addressed to the at 617-993-2600.

Where Do I vote?

Don't know where to vote? Call the Town Clerk at 617-993-2600, or read or download the handy map included on this web page that includes a street directory or go to the Secretary of State's website to locate where you should be voting.

Polling Places

  • Precinct 1 
    • Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct 2 
    • Belmont Town Hall, Selectmen's Meeting Room, 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct 3 
    • Beech Street Center (Senior Center), 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct 4 
    • Daniel Butler School, 90 White St.
  • Precinct 5 
    • Beech Street Center (Senior Center), 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct 6 
    • Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct 7 
    • Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct 8 
    • Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Rd (Enter at Cross St)

Still wonder where to vote? Locate your address on the precinct maps.

Precinct Map - Townwide

        Precinct 1 Map

        Precinct 2 Map

        Precinct 3 Map

        Precinct 4 Map

        Precinct 5 Map

        Precinct 6 Map

        Precinct 7 Map

        Precinct 8 Map

Stricker campaign

A person can seek nomination and election without filing nomination papers to have their name printed as a candidate on the ballot by conducting a write-in or sticker campaign.

All ballots must have an area designated as a write-in space. This space allows a voter to physically write in the name of a person other than those names already printed on the ballot and thereby obtain a vote. A “sticker campaign” is when a candidate provides voters with stickers containing the candidate’s name as registered to affix on the ballot in the area for write-ins. A voter need not use the sticker to have such vote counted for the sticker candidate. He or she can physically write in the name of that candidate.
           
The first step in running for office as a sticker or write-in candidate is checking with local election officials about any particular technicalities involved, such as enrollment or residency requirements.   

All write-in or sticker votes should include the correct name and address of the candidates. 

It is important for you to give clear instructions to voters about the office which you are seeking and where to place the sticker or write-in your name. 

Please note that write-in and sticker votes are counted for the office where the name is written or sticker placed.  For example, if you are running as a sticker candidate for selectmen, but the voter places your sticker under school committee, you will receive a vote for school committee.               

General Election

To be elected in a general election, a write-in or sticker candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate for that office.  There is no minimum number of votes required.

Paper Ballots

If paper ballots are used in your community, the techniques of a write-in campaign are simple.  The voter writes in the name and address of the candidate, with no political party or other designation, in one of the spaces provided below the list of candidates printed on the ballot for that office.  The voter is not required to mark an “X” beside the name.

If you wish to run a sticker campaign where paper ballots are used, you must comply with the following requirements:

  1. The sticker for an individual candidate should be 4” long by 5/16” high to fit in the ballot space, even though the law allows a sticker to be 4 ½” long by ½” high.  A preprinted “X” is not required but may be printed on the right side of the sticker.
  2. The name of the candidate shall be printed in black ink exactly as it appears on the voting list, in capital letters 1/8” to 1/4" in height.  The number and street (if any) and city or town where the candidate resides shall be added after the name in smaller case type than the name.

    Example:

    JOHN JONES 12 Cherry St., Acton  

    No political party or other designation (such as Republican, veteran, present representative, etc.) shall appear.  If running on a municipal office ballot, you do not need to include the name of the city or town. 

  3. Voters should be instructed how to affix the sticker, depending on whether it is the self-adhering type or the type which must be moistened.  Sticker directions, including exactly where to place the sticker, may be attached to a card, which may also contain information about the candidate.
  4. Voters should be instructed to place the sticker in one of the spaces provided beneath the list of candidates printed on the ballot for that office.  The voter is not required to mark an “X” in the box on the right side of the sticker.
  5. Stickers may not be distributed inside the polling place, within the building in which the polling place is located, or less than 150 feet from the entrance to the polling place.


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