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As the local election season ramps up, the Cambridge Election Commission met on Tuesday to discuss its plans to distribute information about voting procedures and election logistics.
Early voting ballots for the Nov. 4 general election will be mailed to voters beginning Monday, and the city will spend the next month preparing to host over 40 polling sites.
Cambridge voters will head to the polls to elect a new City Council and School Committee from a crowded field of candidates. Voters will also decide whether the city should amend its charter, which would restructure the local city government.
Candidates have hit the campaign trail in recent months, appearing at forums, collecting endorsements, and engaging with local students. Transportation, affordability, and resisting President Trump’s administration emerged among many city council candidates’ platforms — signaling key issues in the race.
The commission typically meets twice a month to process candidate nomination papers, ballot measures, and distribute election materials. It also weighs in on questions to ensure compliance with federal and state election laws — most recently verifying a school committee candidate’s proof of residence for ballot eligibility.
At the meeting, commissioners said that residents will be able to access voter guides, , which includes early voting times and locations, polling sites, voter registration information, and a list of candidates,in the mail and online. Commissioners also noted that sample ballots have been uploaded to the city website.
The commission will mail a separate information packet covering the proposed charter, with one proposal including that the School Committee chair be a member elected by the body, rather than the mayor, who currently acts as chair. Another proposed change would expand public participation through new requirements for submitting referenda.
“The ballot question mailer will be sent out, mailed out tomorrow to every household with a voter,” Tanya Ford, the executive director at the Cambridge Election Commission, said. “It'll have the QR code and the link where people can access the full language of the act in English on the Election Commission website, and be able to access the ballot question mail — which is the summary and the pro and cons — in English, and translate it into several versions.”
Voters will see 17 new school committee candidates, with just one incumbent running for re-election. Many parents have joined the race, campaigning for increased transparency amidst the committee’s search for a new superintendent and the recent closure of the Kennedy-Longfellow school.
Commissioners also discussed the possibility of moving polling places out of school buildings, referencing a new policy in Watertown that aims to curb safety and accessibility concerns. Officials confirmed that schools will continue to serve as polling places throughout this year, but they will follow up with the school committee in advance of next year’s cycle.
The commission will reconvene on Oct. 15 to randomly draw precincts, which determines the order for counting votes.
Residents will begin receiving mail-in ballots in the coming weeks, and requests for mail-in ballots must be received by Oct. 28. The final deadline to register to vote is Oct. 25 and in-person early voting will run Oct. 25 through Oct. 31.
Polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
