[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Robert Rosen
Hometown Weekly Staff
The 2016 Presidential Primary will be held on Tuesday, March 1, with the polls open that day from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Voters waiting in line at 8 p.m. will still be allowed to vote.
There are eight precincts in Wellesley, lettered A-H. Voters in precinct A will vote in the Bates School cafeteria (116 Elmwood Rd.). Precinct B will vote in the Sprague School gym (401 School St.). Precinct C will vote at the Upham School gym (35 Wynnewood Rd.). Precinct D will vote at the Schofield School gym (27 Cedar St.).
Precinct E will vote at the Fiske School gym (45 Hastings St.). Precinct F will vote at Dana Hall’s Shipley Center (142 Grove St.). Precinct G will vote in the Wakelin Room at the Wellesley Free Library (530 Washington St.). Precinct G voters are asked to enter from the rear parking lot. Precinct H will vote in the Wellesley High band room (50 Rice St.). Precinct H voters are asked to enter at the east wing of the building.
If you are unsure of which precinct you’re in and don’t know where to vote, visit this link from the Secretary of State: www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/MyElectionInfo.aspx.
Because most polling places are at schools, voters should remember that parking may be limited during the school day. Students typically arrive to school between 8-8:30 a.m. and are dismissed between 2:30-3 p.m. Voters are asked to avoid those times if they can.
If you are enrolled in a party then you must vote for a candidate in that party. Unenrolled voters may choose a ballot at the check-in table. This will not change their party status.
Most of the polling locations in Wellesley will have two lines for voter check-in. Voter lists are arranged alphabetically by street name. There will be signs at the entrance of each polling place indicating which line voters should get in.
Wellesley will be using new voting equipment this year. There will be an oval to fill in instead of marking an arrow. The tabulators are optical scan and read the whole ballot on both sides. The ballot readers will take 5-7 seconds to process each ballot, so voter patience is requested as it will take longer than in past years.
The Wellesley town-wide election will be held on Tuesday, March 15. There are no contested races this year. Town Meeting will begin on Monday, March 28.
Robert Rosen is an Editor for Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @roberterosen.
