The City of Boston Election Department announced its preparations ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election for Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The election includes Councilor seats for each district, as well as citywide At-Large seats and a nonbinding public opinion advisory question.
Polling locations around the City will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Candidates for At-Large include incumbents Michael Flaherty, Althea Garrison, Annissa Essaibi-George, and Michelle Wu, along with candidates Alejandra St. Guillen, David Halbert, Julia Mejia, and Erin Murphy.
In District 1, Councilor Lydia Edwards will be unopposed, but she does plan to hold an Election Eve rally at Monument Restaurant on Nov. 4 with State Rep. Dan Ryan and State Sen. Sal DiDomenico. Despite having no opponent, Edwards said she humbly asked that residents vote for her on Nov. 5.
In addition to Council seats, the citywide ballot will include the non-binding public opinion advisory question: “Do you support the renaming/changing of the name of Dudley Square to Nubian Square?” To get on the ballot, nonbinding public opinion advisory questions are initiated by a citizen petition and approved by the City Council and the Mayor. Dudley Square is located in Roxbury, and plays host to the School Department in the Bolling Building. The push comes from the fact that the Dudley family participated in the slave trade during Colonial times. Many wish to ditch his name due to that fact.
The deadline to submit an application for an absentee ballot is Nov. 4 at noon and can be done by mail or in person at the Election Department in City Hall. In person absentee voting is available in the Election Department during regular business hours as well as on Saturday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If voting absentee by mail, the completed ballot must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
On Election Day, the languages available at the polls and/or using a translator phone bank are: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Cape Verdean and Haitian Creole.
Polling locations in Charlestown include:
•2-1 – (Zelma Lacey House)
•2-2 (Harvard-Kent School)
•2-3 (Zelma Lacey House)
•2-4 (Harvard-Kent School –)
•2-5 (Edwards Middle School –)
•2-6 (Edwards Middle School)
•2-7 (Golden Age Center)