Could there be four — or more — residents vying for two BoH three-year seats?
We hear rumblings of as many as three residents planning write-in campaigns for two three-year Board of Health seats. They would join George Ferdinand, who pulled papers and qualified to appear on the ballot. There may be others in town contemplating such a run.
How will that work? We asked the expert, Town Clerk Denise Graffeo, to explain the rules.
Carnation: Since there are two seats, can people write in two names, even though there is one candidate on the ballot?
Graffeo: Yes, the BoH three-year seat is a “vote for two” contest, with George Ferdinand the only candidate that qualified to appear on the ballot. In that race, there are two spots on the ballot for write-ins. I will post a sample ballot on the website as soon as they become available.
TC: Do the top two vote getters win the seats, regardless of if they are write ins?
DG: The top two vote getters win the seats.
TC: Mass is a voter intent state. That is, if a voter misspells a candidate’s name or address, the vote can still be counted, as long as the election worker can figure out the voter’s intent. Could you clarify how that works?
DG: Our poll workers have been trained to count write-ins and will be informed of any declared write-in candidates.
Graffeo suggested the Secretary of State’s website as a source of additional guidance, including letting local election officials know if you plan to run a write-in campaign, so they can prepare the election workers who will be counting the votes.
From the point of view of sharing information on these candidates, once an individual announces publicly, he or she will have the same coverage opportunities as any other candidate. That includes an invitation to the Candidates Forum on March 27 and 28 and the ability to submit a letter of introduction and a Q&A response, should they make that deadline.
All voters and candidates are also invited to the TDTC Candidates Social on March 26.
Lorna Garey
Lorna is a past and current Malden resident, U.S. Army veteran, and longtime tech and community journalist who has written for organizations ranging from the DIA to InformationWeek. In her previous hometown she founded a hyperlocal news site, the Tewksbury Carnation.
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