State Primary to be Held Sept. 6 at AHS, Senior Center

This was provided by Town Clerk Lawrence Murphy.

The Massachusetts State Primary will be held on Sept. 6. This is an unusual Thursday election. Polling hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Precincts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and Sub-precinct 9A will vote at the Field House on Shawsheen Road.  Precincts 1, 7, Sub-precinct 7A and Precinct 8 will vote at the on Whittier Court.

The last day and hour to register to vote or to change party affiliation for this election is 8 p.m. on Friday Aug. 17.  The Town Clerk’s Office will be open until 8 p.m. that evening for voter registration. Mail in voter registration forms are available on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/index.htm. The form can also be accessed on the Town Clerk’s page of the Town Web site at www.andoverma.gov. This is a fillable PDF form which can be filled, printed and mailed or hand delivered to the Town Clerk’s Office. If mailed it must be postmarked by Aug. 17. If hand delivered it must be received in the Town Clerk’s Office by 8:00 PM on August 17.

The last day and hour to apply for an absentee ballot is NOON on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Absentee ballots are now available at the Town Clerk’s Office.

This is the first election, since state wide re-districting went into effect earlier this year, that the ballots are not the same for every precinct. Many voters will find that their Congressional and State Representative Districts have changed. The candidates and races for each precinct and party can be found on the Town Web Site at www.andoverma.gov under the “What’s New” section of the Home Page by choosing “September Primary Election Ballots” where voters will also find a link to search for their voting precinct.

Voters will be casting their votes for candidates for nomination for each of Massachusetts three political parties; Democratic, Republican and Green-Rainbow. Voters registered in a political party may only take a ballot for that party. Unenrolled voters, often called Independents, may choose a ballot for any one of the three political parties. Voters enrolled in a political designation other than Democrat, Republican or Green-Rainbow, will not be eligible to vote in this election.

There will be an election shuttle bus, Modified Rt. 21, from the Senior Center on Whittier Court that will make stops at the Town Offices, Railroad St. Apartments and Frye Circle as well as the High School.

Questions may be directed to the Town Clerk’s Office at (978) 623-8255.