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Marblehead voters will have three days of in-person early voting at Abbott Hall before a June 9 town election that puts as much as $15 million in new annual revenue and a separate $2.3 million trash question on the ballot, after the Select Board on Thursday approved hours recommended that morning by the Board of Registrars.
The schedule, adopted unanimously at a brief afternoon meeting, sets in-person early voting for Tuesday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Wednesday, June 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Voters will face two distinct items. The first is a tiered operating override Town Meeting authorized at $9 million, $12 million or $15 million in new annual revenue, phased in over three years and put to voters as three separate yes-or-no questions. The highest tier to clear a majority is the one that takes effect; lower tiers are void if a higher tier prevails. If all three fail, the no-override fiscal 2027 budget Town Meeting passed under Article 23 stands. The second item is the $2,298,575 trash override, a standalone question that would shift curbside trash and recycling collection from a $262-a-year household fee onto the property tax levy. The Finance Committee voted favorable on the overall town-and-school operating override at its April 27 warrant hearing and took a separate 7-2 favorable vote on the trash question.
In-person early voting is not automatic for local elections the way it is for state and federal races, assistant town clerk Jill Lewis told the board. The Board of Registrars met earlier Thursday and voted unanimously to authorize it, leaving the Select Board to fix the days and hours. The hours, Lewis said, were drawn from current staffing levels and last year’s turnout while still expanding access. Early voting is open to any registered voter, no excuse required.
Voters with conflicts on election day have other paths to the ballot. Absentee ballots remain available in person or by mail through noon on June 8 for residents who will be out of town, have a physical disability or have a religious objection to voting on election day. No-excuse mail-in voting can be requested at the Town Clerk’s Office or through the mass.gov portal. Any mailed ballot must be physically back at the office by 8 p.m. on election day; a postmark, Lewis said, is not enough.
Select Board member Erin Noonan, who joined remotely, urged commuters not to assume the early voting window was their only option.
“If you’re a commuter and you won’t be able to be in town, you can even outside of these office hours, the early voting hours, go in, and the clerks will be happy to assist you,” Noonan said.
The Town Clerk’s Office is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some residents have already voted, Lewis said. The voter registration deadline is May 29, 10 days before the election; residents can register online at mass.gov or in person at the clerk’s office.
The Select Board and School Committee are holding public information sessions at Abbott Hall on May 27 and June 2, with morning slots from 9 to 10 a.m. and evening slots from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
With the chair absent Thursday afternoon, Jim Zisson moved to appoint Alexa Singer as chair pro tem; Singer presided over the roughly nine-minute meeting.
