From the Town Clerk

August is one of my favorite months in New England – The weather is always great making it the best time of the year to hop in the car and go to the many beaches and lakes this area has to offer. It’s also a great time of the year to go hiking and camping. I hope everyone can get out and enjoy it.

School for Seekonk starts on August 30^th. All school and Town offices will be closed on Labor Day September 4th. I wish everyone going back to school a successful and fun year.

It’s hard to believe that the Town Clerk’s office is already planning for the elections in 2024. As we all know 2024 will be a big year for elections, the presidential primary also known as Super Tuesday will be held on March 5, 2024. Massachusetts has three presidential party primaries- Democratic, Republican, Libertarian. According to Secretary of State, William Galvin, the presidential primary ballot will be finalized by the end of 2023. The voter registration deadline for the March 5 election is February 24, 2024. You can check or change your registration status and party affiliation on the secretary of state’s website. Massachusetts has open primaries; independent (unenrolled) voters can pick which party they want to vote for at the polls.

For your information Seekonk’s state senator is Marc Pacheco (next election 2025) and state representative is Steven Howitt (next election 2025). On the national level the town is part of Massachusetts Congressional District 4, which is represented by Jake Auchincloss (next election 2024). The state’s Senior Senator is Elizabeth Warren (next election 2024), and the state’s Junior Senator, is Ed Markey (next election 2026).

Thanks to those who have returned the census confirmation post cards. Unfortunately, we still have over 2,000 inactive voters in our system. The status of inactive means you could be removed from the voter rolls if you did not answer the census two consecutive years in a row. This office can’t stress enough the importance of being a current, active voter, because when it comes time to vote: 1) you might not be able to cast a ballot because you have been removed from the voter rolls. 2) you will not have to go through time consuming steps in order to cast a ballot. Please take a moment to check your voter status it is easy go to: www.sec.state.ma.us  This website will allow you to check you voter status, change your party affiliation or register to vote.

The 22nd annual 9/11 ceremony is to be held on September 11^th at the Safety Complex building on Taunton Avenue (time to be announced). The ceremony marks the anniversary in which terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. We hope you plan on attending to honor not only the people who lost their lives on 9/11 but to pay tribute to and thank our Public Safety employees and veterans.

A friendly reminder preliminary tax bills went out at the end of June with the first quarter due August 1^st and the second due November 1^st.

Have a great month.