According to the survey, 40 percent of MA communities are in the final planning stages of preparing for the new system, while 35 percent have started planning, and 13 percent have no plans yet at all. Another 126 communities have begun the planning process.
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North Eastern Tribune residents turned out in their numbers to cast their votes for the 2016 Local Municipal Elections. “Now our efforts and attention will now be focused on early voting marketing and operational plans”.
For the first time in MA, voters will be able to cast ballots for up to 11 days prior to Election Day. Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman said earlier this week she expected about 20 percent of voters to participate in the primary.
Early voting this year had increased to 23,416 ahead of the August 4 election, up from 16,058 in 2012.
The 2014 law applies to all state elections, excluding primaries, and also provides for early voting by mail.
Secretary of State William Galvin said he is not concerned that many municipalities have yet to finalize their plans.
Overall, there will be 27 early voting sites across Boston, three in each of the city’s nine council districts, in addition to early voting at City Hall.
Up to 175 municipalities plan to offer extended evening hours and 83 municipalities plan to offer weekend hours, according to the report.
According to the coalition, evening and weekend voting hours are crucial to accommodate all voters. “It is hard when you are doorknocking in the city of Lynn and ask for the person who is registered to vote and they say ‘No, he is not here, he is working two jobs”.
In some instances, Galvin said, he asked communities to revise their plans to improve them.
“We’ve had people here [from] before 7am and it’s been increasing steadily as the day progresses”, she said.
“Communities have gone everywhere from appropriating nearly no money for it to quite a bit”.
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Funding to help pay for the early voting law was at the center of a dispute between Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic leaders in the Massachusetts House and Senate.
