GREENFIELD — The city will not be holding a municipal election this year, so there is no need, like other towns in Franklin County, for voters to apply for mail-in ballots.
According to City Clerk Kathy Scott, the city holds a municipal election every other year, and it was held last year.
Therefore, Scott said, people should not ask for absentee or mail-in ballots for a city election that isn’t being held. However, they will have the opportunity to apply for one for the state primary election in September and the state/federal presidential elections in November.
Scott said people can actually apply for those now, but won’t receive them until the state has determined what will be allowed and when.
“If people want to receive an absentee ballot for state and federal elections or the primary, they can submit their application now and when they are ready, we can email or mail them a ballot,” she said on Monday. “They can also wait until we reopen — we don’t know yet when that will be, yet — and they can come in to request one.”
Scott said her office will start mailing out ballots as soon as she gets them. She said the state Legislature is currently discussing options for how absentee and mail-in ballots will be handled this year in terms of the reasons why people can request one. In the past, people have been able to apply for an absentee ballot, for instance, based on religion, health or because they weren’t going to be in the area on election day.
She said, as always, people will be able to do early voting, but in the past they have had to physically go to the clerk’s office. She said she’s not sure if that will change this year because of the pandemic.
Scott said the rules of voting are based on each city’s or town’s charter, and state voting is based on state law. She said everyone is waiting to hear if any of that will change.
“As things move forward, we’ll be hearing more about what will and won’t be required this year,” she said.
For more information, call the City Clerk’s Office at 413-772-1555 or visit: bit.ly/2WJTrq5.