Early voting for the November 3 state election starts Saturday, October 17, in Chelsea, and the last day to register is Saturday, October 24. Here are the dates, the hours, and everything on Chelsea’s ballot, from the city’s sample ballot and election notices.
Key dates
- Register or change your address by Saturday, October 24. The City Clerk’s Office, Room 209 at City Hall, 500 Broadway, is open that day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for registration. You can also register online at sec.state.ma.us/ovr.
- Early voting runs from Saturday, October 17, through Friday, October 30. Weekend hours are Saturday, October 17, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On weekdays the hours follow City Hall’s: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. Once you vote early, you cannot vote again at the polls on Election Day.
- Apply to vote by mail by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. State rules say the application must reach the local election office by 5 p.m. on the fifth business day before Election Day. The application, in English and Spanish, is on the city’s elections page. The city advises returning your ballot with enough time for it to be received and counted.
- Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
The candidates
Several of the races on Chelsea’s ballot are contested:
- U.S. Senate: Edward J. Markey (Democrat, incumbent), John Deaton (Republican), Shiva Ayyadurai (Independent) and Joe Tache (Socialism and Liberation).
- Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Healey and Driscoll (Democrat), Minogue and Oliver (Republican), and James and Kittredge (Independent).
- Attorney General: Andrea Joy Campbell (Democrat, incumbent) and Michael C. Walsh (Republican).
- Secretary of State: William Francis Galvin (Democrat, incumbent) and Anne R. Brensley (Republican).
- Treasurer: Deborah B. Goldberg (Democrat, incumbent) and Elizabeth Dionne (Republican).
- Auditor: Diana DiZoglio (Democrat, incumbent) and Al Ozonoff (Libertarian).
- Northeast Metropolitan Regional School Committee, Malden seat (to fill a vacancy): James Bancroft Perry and Sean M. Salazar, both of Malden. Chelsea is one of the communities served by Northeast Metro Tech, so Chelsea voters see this race too.
These candidates are unopposed: U.S. Representative Ayanna S. Pressley (7th District), Governor’s Councillor Terrence W. Kennedy (6th District), State Senator Sal N. DiDomenico, State Representative Judith Garcia, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden and Suffolk Register of Probate Stephanie L. Everett. All are Democrats seeking re-election.
Nine ballot questions
From the official summaries on the ballot, a yes vote would:
- Make most records held by the Legislature and the governor’s office public records under the state Public Records Law.
- Specify that employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defender agency, may form a union and bargain collectively.
- Replace separate party primaries for state offices with a single all-party primary, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.
- Let eligible people register to vote, or update their address, at their polling place on Election Day, starting January 1, 2028.
- Change the limit on state tax revenue, tying it to the prior year’s collections plus average wage and salary growth, and rebate revenue above the limit.
- Create a natural resources conservation fund paid for with part of the state sales tax on sporting goods.
- Allow single-family homes on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in residential areas, subject to reasonable local regulation.
- End legal retail sales of recreational marijuana and change the penalties for possession.
- Keep the 2024 gun law, which increased regulation of firearms, including ghost guns, machine guns and assault-style weapons. Question 9 is a referendum on an existing law, so a yes vote keeps it and a no vote would repeal it.
A no vote on Questions 1 through 8 would leave current law unchanged. The full text of each question and summary is on the city’s elections page, which has the complete sample ballot in English and Spanish.
Not sure where you vote? The city’s elections page lists polling locations, and you can check your registration through the state’s online system. For help with accessible voting, absentee ballots or other questions, contact Election Administrator Phillip Dragone at [email protected] or 617-466-4056.