Worcester election office readies September, November ballots; early voting, drop boxes and Spanish outreach emphasized

Madam Clerk told the Board of Election Commissioners on Aug. 6 that the elections office has mailed nearly 8,000 ballots and received just over 1,000 returns as it prepares for the Sept. 2 and Nov. 4 municipal elections.

The clerk said the office mailed “nearly 8,000 ballots, already to voters,” and that “just over a thousand ballots [have been] returned by mail at this point.” The office reminded voters that ballots must be received by the close of polls at 8 p.m. on election day to be counted.

The clerk described multiple ways voters can return ballots: drop boxes located at each fire station around the city and two at City Hall (one at the front entrance facing Main Street and a second at the City Hall door facing the common). The clerk also outlined plans for in-person early voting at the Worcester Public Library Monday through Friday, with two late nights (Tuesday and Thursday) until 7 p.m.; parking at the library will be validated for early voters.

On tabulation, the clerk said the elections division will “likely be using central tabulation the Saturday prior to the election. I believe that date is the thirtieth, if I'm correct,” and clarified that ballots tabulated that day will not be released publicly until after polls close on election day.

Staff described continuing poll-worker recruitment and training: in-person trainings at the end of August and virtual training options for poll workers. The clerk said the division maintains a wait list for last-minute staffing gaps and particularly encouraged bilingual Spanish–English applicants "who might be bilingual and can offer translation to the voters of Worcester." The office has distributed bilingual election materials — voter guides and flyers in English and Spanish — at community locations including the senior center and at outreach events such as National Night Out at University Park.

The clerk offered to resend bilingual materials to commissioners by email for distribution through their community networks and said staff will check with the city's emergency communications office about whether city alert notifications can be delivered in Spanish.

The office also reminded commissioners that preparations for the Nov. 4 municipal election are already underway, including student poll-worker programs and additional logistical planning because the November ballot will include more races than September.

The commission did not take final votes on these operational items during the discussion; staff said they would continue outreach, finalize early-voting schedules and proceed with central tabulation preparations.