City of Boston Issues Reminders Ahead of Special State Primary Elections

The City of Boston’s Election Department is reminding voters in the 9th and 10th Suffolk Representative Districts that the upcoming Special State Primary Elections to fill the vacancies following the resignations of Representatives Edward F. Coppinger and Jon Santiago will take place on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Polling locations open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. Only 39 of Boston’s 252 precincts will participate in this election. A full list of polling locations can be found here.

Vote-by-mail

Voters who requested a vote by mail ballot are encouraged to return their ballots early to ensure that they are counted. 

Ballots may be returned using one of eight drop-box locations in the City; in-person at the Boston Election Department located at City Hall Room 241; or via U.S. Mail. All drop boxes will remain open until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voters are asked to please use the postage paid return envelope included with the ballot package. Ballots must reach the Boston Election Department or a ballot drop box by 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May, 2nd to be counted.

Ballots cannot be delivered to a polling location on Election Day.

Voters can track the status of requests for vote-by-mail ballots here. If there is no movement indicated in the “Track My Ballot” system, voters should plan to vote in-person on Election Day.

Voting on Election Day 

As a reminder, voters should check their registration status via the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website. Boston’s ballots are available in English and Spanish across all precincts within the 9th and 10th State Representative districts and in Chinese and Vietnamese if requested. All voting locations are ADA accessible and are equipped with AutoMark Voting Terminals for voters with visual or language disabilities.

Polling Location Change

Voters in Ward 20 Precincts 6, 7 and 19 will return to their previous voting location at Holy Name Parish Hall, 535 West Roxbury Parkway. The voter entrance is located off Centre Street and Greaton Road and voting will take place in the gymnasium.

Voters in Ward 20 Precinct 20 will continue to vote at the BCYF Roche Community Center gymnasium, 1716 Centre St. 

Unofficial Results

After polls close at 8:00 p.m., the Election Department will receive and upload unofficial results of ballots counted at polling places as they are returned from each precinct.

Media Guidelines

Where to Stand

Members of the press must remain behind the guardrail. While many polling places are not equipped with a physical guardrail, the area within the “guardrail” encompasses the check-in table, the voting booths, and the ballot box. Only poll workers and voters should be within this area.

Interacting with Voters and Poll Workers

Members of the press, like all other observers in the polling place, may not interact with voters while they are in the polling place. Further, observers who have questions about where they should stand and what they are allowed to do while observing should ask to speak to the warden. The warden may provide members of the press with information regarding their rights as observers.

Photography

Photography of the voting process in the polling place is permitted, though marked ballots may not be photographed. Photographers are allowed inside the polling place to photograph the area from outside the guardrail. The warden may instruct the photographer not to take photos of any marked ballots.

Video & Audio Recording

As with photography of the polling place, video recording of the polling place is allowed. Audio recording of the polling place is not permitted under state law. Anyone recording in the polling place must have the ability to record without capturing audio and should be instructed to do so by the warden. Those who are using electronic equipment may not use the electricity in the polling place to power their equipment.

Exit Polling

Exit polling and interviews of voters are permitted outside the polling place, even within 150 feet of the entrance to the polling place, but only those voters who are leaving the polling place should be stopped. Voter access to the polling place should not be impeded in any way.