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State Primary Election is Tuesday, September 6. Don’t Forget to Vote!

Vote by Mail, Vote Early In-Person, or Vote In-Person on September 6.

All registered voters in Newton and across Massachusetts now have the option to cast a Vote-by-mail ballot and vote early, by mail or in-person, in all elections.

For detailed information on Elections and Voting, visit the Secretary of State’s Elections Division website page.

To Vote Early by Mail

Voters should have received a ballot application by mail from Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office last week. Didn’t get your application? You can download one here.

Fill out the application then either:

    • drop it off at one of the two secure ballot drop boxes outside the entrance to Newton City Hall, or
    • mail it to the Newton Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Avenue, 02459, or
    • fax your application to 617-796-1214, or
    • scan the application and email it to elections@newtonma.gov, using the subject line: 2022 Vote by Mail Ballot Application

Applications for mail-in ballots must have a signature that is visible and signed “in substantially the same manner as a handwritten signature.”  Applications with typed signatures will not be accepted.

Completed ballots can be mailed back to the Newton City Clerk’s Office in the envelope provided, hand delivered to the City Clerk’s office, or dropped in one of the two drop boxes at City Hall.  Ballots must be received before 8:00pm when the polls close on Election Day to be counted.

Ballots cannot be dropped off at a polling place on Election Day.

To Vote Early, In-Person

In-person early voting for the September 6th Primary begins at Newton City Hall on Saturday, August 27 and continues through Friday, September 2. More details found here.

Polls will be open on election days across Newton from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Find your polling location here.

Read more about who is on the ballot and find more information on applicable deadlines below.

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The League Presents: A conversation with Carol Moore, Newton’s City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council

CEarly in June, Marcia Johnson had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Carol Moore about her role as Newton’s City Clerk & Clerk of the City Council.  Ms. Moore is a career public servant with over twenty years in public administration and management. The last six years she has held the role of City Clerk and is a certified Municipal Clerk.  She is the first woman to be selected as City Clerk/Clerk of the Council for Newton.  After David Olson left in early 2020, there were a number of months while these roles were vacant before Newton was lucky enough to find her. Ms. Moore has a steep learning curve and big job running the offices of the City Clerk, Elections and Clerk of the Council.  Please listen to the program and learn about Ms. Moore who has demonstrated that she is up to the task and doing a wonderful job.

  1. What enticed you to come to Newton and take the position of Clerk of the City Council & City Clerk?
  2. Can you please describe the responsibilities of the Clerk of the Council and City Clerk?
  3. As you are new to Newton and you have three different jobs, a difficult task, how have you gone about learning all that there is to do?
  4. I have recently heard that some Newton residents are concerned about the privacy of their votes when there is early and mail-in voting. Can you please outline what our poll workers do to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of people’s ballots?
  5. In other parts of the country city clerks and election commissions have been impacted by disinformation. How do you, the Councilors, Mayor and the Secretary of State work together to ensure that Newton has fair and transparent elections and minimize the impact of disinformation?
  6. Recently the State Senate and House passed the VOTES Act, how will these measures impact your team and overall voting in Newton?
  7. What if anything can Newton residents and businesspeople do to help you help them
  8. What is your most favorite part of your jobs?

Watch the video now

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President’s Message from 2022 Annual Meeting

The following are the remarks given by LWVN president Marcia Johnson at our 2022 Annual Meeting which was held virtually on June 12, 2022:

As they say in show business…TAKE III.  Yes, this is our third virtual annual meeting.  By now we all are getting pretty comfortable with the technology, but I still want to give a shout-out to Theresa Fitzpatrick and Lisa Mirable who as our technical and event planning team make our meetings, such as this, run smoother than they might otherwise.  As much as we wanted to have our meeting in-person and are disappointed, the Board felt it was too risky given the increasing Covid Omicron numbers.  

As we reflect on this past year, which I think we all had hoped would be calmer, healthier, and productive, we now find that once again, we have Covid hanging over our heads and hearts.  Our country is divided  more than ever, and now our economy is shaky at best, especially for those with middle and low incomes.  To cap it off, there is a war…in Ukraine and on democracy. 

So, what kind of impact has this had on League priorities, let’s  take a look:

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Membership Approves Consensus Study Committee on Zoning

Newton zoning map

At its Annual Meeting held on June 12, 2022, the membership approved the formation of a Consensus Study Committee to Update Zoning Positions.

More information about this study and the reasons for it are described below.  This will be an intensive study of local zoning, and membership interest in welcome and encouraged.  Anyone interested in participating in this committee should Contact Us.

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Municipal Transparency and Accountability Initiative: Mission Statement and Goals

Throughout its 102-year history, the League of Women Voters has been a vigorous advocate for transparent and accountable government. The League strongly believes that transparency and accountability in government–at all levels–is vital for a wide variety of reasons:  to encourage civic engagement, to measure goal achievement and evaluate results, to improve services and outcomes, and to track and monitor the actions of governmental bodies and elected officials.

In order to evaluate the transparency and accountability of Newton’s city government, and to advocate  for specific improvements, the League of Women Voters of Newton (LWVN) has launched a Municipal Transparency and Accountability Initiative. Over the next 12 months, LWVN will assess Newton’s municipal transparency and accountability, with reference to the needs in our community as well as examples and best practices implemented in other communities, in the following key areas:

  • General information about municipal services, processes, and events (e.g., a comprehensive city government calendar; departmental websites; information about city services like trash pickup and road repairs; information about the budget process, special permit process, elections; a feedback mechanism for praise or criticism; functionality of 311 system; etc.);
  • Fiscal, operational, and demographic data (e.g., budget and finance data; utilization or bottom line data for initiatives like NewMo, Blue Bikes; Newton’s progress toward carbon neutrality; public safety data such as NFD response times or number of monthly 911 calls by category; information about Newton’s affordable housing stock, including  locations and availability; demographic trends, etc.)
    • Information about City Council activity (e.g., status of docket items, councilor voting history and attendance at Council and committee meetings, minutes, agendas, audio and video recordings, etc.);
    • Information that tracks mayor’s initiatives and priorities (e.g. ARPA spending, implementation of task force recommendations, follow-up to initiatives like the Community Needs Assessment, etc.);
  • Consistent Information about Boards and Commissions (e.g., minutes, agendas, audio recordings, meeting materials, annual reports, correspondence, etc.)

As it begins this project and at key points as the project develops, LWVN seeks input from Newton groups and organizations. LWVN invites representatives of Newton groups and organizations to share their experiences with and views about transparency and accountability in Newton by responding to a brief survey.

LWVN looks forward to sharing the results of its Municipal Transparency and Accountability Initiative with the Newton community in 2023.