Above: Tomorrow, Southborough voters will cast ballots at Trottier (or by dropping off a mail-in ballot) in one of three parties’ primaries for the Presidential Election. (images of party logos from social media)
The “Super Tuesday” Presidential Primary is tomorrow, March 5th. Here’s a reminder about what you need to know about voting in Southborough and the races on the ballots.
How to Vote
Voting will be held in the Trottier Middle School Gymnasium from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm for all three precincts.
If you have a mail-in ballot that you have yet to mail, it is too late to post it. But you can still drop it off before the end of voting. Use the ballot box at the Town House, 17 Common Street. (See image right.) [Note: DO NOT bring it with you to the polls.]
What you can vote on
Three parties are holding primaries: Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. If you are registered with one of them, that is the only ballot you can vote on. Voters who are unenrolled in a party (including those with other “political designations”*) can choose which ballot to vote on. (In Southborough, that’s typically been the majority of voters.)
In addition to Presidential nominee, each ballot lists candidates to be representatives on the parties’ state and town committees. For those, the only one with a contested race is on the Republican ballot. And even that one isn’t evident from reading the ballot.
Under Republican State Committee Woman, there is only one listed candidate. But I was alerted about a write-in campaign for an opponent. (You can read more about that in my previous election coverage here.)
As for the Republican ballot’s Presidential nominees. . . for those who haven’t been closely following the news, five of the seven candidates listed have already dropped out of the race. The only two still officially running are Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. You can view a sample ballot here.
On the Democratic ballot, the three Presidential candidates listed are all actively running.** Those are Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, and Marianne Williamson**. There is even an active campaign for the fourth option, “No Preference”.
WBUR reports that political activists are encouraging voters to select “No Preference” as a signal for their desire for a ceasefire in Gaza “and ending U.S. complicity in the Palestinian genocide”. You can view a sample ballot here.
On the Libertarian Ballot, five candidates are running for the Presidential nomination: Jacob George Hornberger, Michael D. Rectenwald, Chase Russell Oliver, Michael Ter Maat, and Lars Damian Mapstead. You can view a sample ballot here.
If you have any questions about voting, please call the Town Clerk’s office at (508) 485-0710 x 3005 or email townclerk@southboroughma.com.
*Note: There are “political designations” that you can be enrolled under, like the Green-Rainbow Party, which aren’t currently recognized by the state as an official party. Those voters are treated as unenrolled in a party, so also free to vote in any party’s primary.
**Williamson had dropped out, but “unsuspended” her campaign after beating Dean Phillips in Michigan.
