Town Clerk's Corner

The arrival of October starts the fall season with a chill in the air, trees turning colors, apple picking and pumpkins to let us know that Halloween will arrive soon. And let’s not forget there’s a long weekend as well. Please remember that Town Hall will be closed on October 8th in observance of Columbus Day.

State Primary recap.
The voter turnout for the primary in Seekonk was very good. There were 1,165 votes cast out of 10,301 eligible voters. Making it an 11.31 percent turnout. Thanks to everyone who came out to vote on such a hot and humid day. And as always thanks to all who helped behind the scenes to get the election up and running. The Clerk’s office couldn’t do it without all of you.  Now that the State Primary is over we will be focusing on the State Election November 6th.

Early voting information
Early voting for the November 6, 2018 State Election will be available to all Massachusetts voters. No excuse is required. Early voting will be held at the Town Hall, 100 Peck Street, during regular business hours. We will be adding several hours on the Saturday between the two weeks for folks who can’t make it during the work week. Early voting will start on October 22nd and end on November 2nd at 12:00PM.
October 22- November 2 - Early Voting Schedule
Monday October 22 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Tuesday October 23 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Wednesday October 24 8:30AM - 7:00PM
Thursday October 25 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Friday October 26 8:30AM - 12:00PM
Saturday October 27 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Monday October 29 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Tuesday October 30 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Wednesday October 31 8:30AM - 7:00PM
Thursday November 1 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Friday November 2 8:30AM - 12:00PM

If you prefer to cast your ballot by mail, you may submit an early ballot application to the Town Clerk’s office. Your ballot will be mailed to you at the beginning of the early voting period.

If you will be out of town on Election Day, you have a disability, or you have a religious belief which prevents you from going to vote the day of the election, you qualify for an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots are available before the early voting period.

Absentee Voter information
If you need to vote by absentee ballot please call us and we will send or email you a ballot application. The deadline to get an application to absentee vote is no later than noon on the day before the election, which will be November 5th at 12:00PM.

If you have children that are college age and registered to vote in Seekonk, please do not wait the week before the election to request a ballot for them. The ballot would need to be mailed and get back to us before the close of polls the day of the election. The same applies for anyone requesting to vote absentee, you must allow time for the mailing back and forth.

Voter registration information
If you want to register to vote or change your party affiliation you can go online to: www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr, or you can go to the town website www.seekonk-ma.gov under Departments click on Town Clerk then go to Elections and Voting then to downloadable forms. Or you can come into the Town Clerks Office at Town Hall and register to vote.

Voter registration deadline for the November 6th State Election ends 8:00PM on October 17th.
If you have any questions concerning the early voting process, absentee ballot process, or any questions in general about the voting process please call us, 508-336-2920 we will be glad to help you.

I would also like to remind voters and people who might be helping a candidate that campaigning within 150 feet of the polling place is not permitted. People are not allowed to wear any paraphernalia promoting a ballot question, or candidate (pins, shirts, hats, buttons, etc.) in the polling place. This is enforced by the police that are on duty.

Town Meeting News
The Fall Town Meeting will be held at Seekonk High School at 7pm on Monday, November 19. The warrant is now open and will close October 5th.

Vitals Update
So far this year, the Town Clerk’s Office has registered and processed 24 Birth Certificates, 120 Marriage Intentions, 33 Death Certificates and 32 new Business Certificates.

Reminders

• Taxes are due November 1st. 
• Fiscal 2019 trash bills are due October 23rd.
• West Nile Virus has been confirmed in mosquitoes from Seekonk. Please remember mosquitoes are still out, active and hungry this time of year. Remember to apply insect repellent when you go outdoors. For more information please see the press release on the Town website. 
• Flu vaccines will be coming in at the Board of Health early October. For more information please call the Board of Health at 508-336-2950. 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who came out to the17th Annual 9-11 Remembrance. It was so nice to see young and old attend to remember the attacks on the United States as well as honor the police officers, firefighters and all first responders.

Enjoy October, have a fun and safe Columbus Day and Halloween.