Vote today!

Sep 1, 2020

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today for the primary election in which registered voters choose the candidates each party will put forward in several races on November 3.

New election rules requiring coronavirus safety measures at polling places and expanding mail-in and early voting options were signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker earlier this summer. 

Residents unaffiliated with either party may choose a Republican or Democratic ballot at the voting booth.

Precinct one and precinct six vote at Town Hall, 54 Marion Road. Precincts two and three vote at the Ethel E. Hammond School, 13 Highland Ave. Precincts four and five vote at the Redmen Hall, 786 Main Street. 

The town has put in place a number of safety precautions. Only eight voters will be allowed in the polling place at a time. All voters must wear a face covering. Those who don’t want to use provided pens and a voting booth may bring a blue or black ink Sharpie or Paper Mate Flair pen and a clipboard or book on which to fill out the ballot. Six feet of social distancing must be maintained between oneself and those not from one’s household.

In a hotly contested US senate race, incumbent Ed Markey and challenger Joe Kennedy III will be competing on the Democratic ticket to go up against either Kevin O’Connor or Shiva Ayyadurai on the Republican side.

Ed Markey has been a US senator for Massachusetts since 2013 and a US representative since 1976. He helped author the Green New Deal, a policy proposal addressing climate change and economic inequality, and co-sponsored Medicare for All, a bill that would create a universal single-payer health care system — policies also supported by Joe Kennedy III

Kennedy is a son of former US Representative Joseph Kennedy II and has been a US representative for Massachusetts’ fourth congressional district since 2013, when he took the seat after former representative Barney Frank retired. 

According to his campaign website, Kevin O’Connor is an attorney and longstanding member of the legal community in Massachusetts, serving on the executive committee for the Boston Bar Association Council and holding a number of other roles with the association. He supports term limits and free enterprise.

Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai holds a Ph.D in biological engineering from MIT and claims to have invented email, claims that have been largely discredited. He ran against Elizabeth Warren as an independent in the US Senate race in 2018, earning 3.4% of the vote. He advocates for coronavirus to be treated with vitamin supplements.

Incumbent US Representative Bill Keating is running unopposed on the Democratic ballot for Massachusetts’ ninth congressional district, while Helen Brady is running unopposed on the Republican ballot in the same race.

Keating lives in Bourne and has been a congressional representative for Massachusetts since 2013 following a career in law and state politics. Brady lives in Plymouth and has worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 32 years. She is also the Business Director for the Boston Pops.

In the Massachusetts state legislature for Wareham’s district, Democratic incumbent Marc Pacheco will be running to keep his seat in the senate, while Republican incumbent Susan Gifford will be running unopposed for her house seat. The other party’s primaries were cancelled for these races.

Those unsure of their precinct can find out at www.sec.state.ma.us/wheredoivotema/bal/myelectioninfo.aspx.