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Voting and Elections
Registering to Vote
Voter registration has never been easier than it is today. You may visit the Town Clerk's Office at Winchester Town Hall and complete a voter registration form in person. Or, you may obtain a mail-in voter registration form from the Town Hall lobby, the Winchester Public Library , United States Post Office and various other locations throughout the state. Mail-in forms also may be obtained by calling the State Elections Division at (800) 462-VOTE. In addition, the state registries of motor vehicles, social service agencies and military recruitment offices provide voter registration services.
Any person who is a Massachusetts resident, a United States citizen and will be eighteen years old as of the next election is eligible to register to vote. You must attest, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that you are legally eligible to register and that the information you provide is accurate and truthful. The penalty for fraudulent registration is a fine of ten thousand dollars or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
When you register, you may choose to become a member of a political party, select a designation for a political organization which has not achieved party status in the state or choose to become an "unenrolled" voter (commonly referred to as "independent"). Remember that if you register in a party or select a political organization designation, in a primary election you only may receive a ballot for that party. Unenrolled voters may request any ballot in a primary election.
Absentee Voting
Voters who are unable to vote on Election Day because of physical disability, religious beliefs, or absence from the Town may vote by absentee ballot. State law limits the availability of absentee ballots to the three listed circumstances only. Absentee ballots are not available for mere inconvenience, or because of ordinary commuting-related difficulties. If you will be absent from Winchester for an extended period of time, you may submit a single application for all elections occurring within the year the application is accepted.
Applications for absentee ballots may be obtained from the Town Clerk. Applications may be submitted in person or by mail. The voter, or a "family member" (father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, a spouse or person residing in the same household, in-laws, adopting parent or adopted child, stepparent or stepchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew), may submit an application. The voter or family member must sign all applications under the pains and penalties of perjury.
In primary elections, a voter who is not registered in a political party must specify the ballot of the party of choice in the application. In state primaries you will not become registered in a party because of your participation. However, in presidential preference primaries, held in March, a voter does become a member of the party for which a ballot is chosen. While you can change your registration status back to "unenrolled" (independent) immediately after voting, your temporary enrollment in a party may affect your ability to run as a party candidate. Applications for absentee ballots must be received by the Town Clerk before 12:00 noon the day before an election. (A voter who is admitted to a health care facility after noon of the fifth day before an election may apply for a ballot up until the close of the polls and may request to have the ballot delivered.) Absentee ballots generally are available three weeks before an election.
Permanently Disabled Voters
A voter who is permanently disabled need not submit a request for an absentee ballot every election. If such a voter submits a note from a registered physician indicating that they are disabled permanently, the Town Clerk will send an application for an absentee ballot twenty-eight days before every election. Upon receipt of the signed application, the Town Clerk will send the voter an absentee ballot.
If the voter submits the application in person, he may obtain the ballot (call first to see if it is available) and vote over-the-counter. If the ballot is not available, it will be sent to the voter when available. When the application is submitted in person by a family member, the ballot is sent by mail to the voter. In all other cases, the ballot is sent by mail. Ballots may be returned by mail or in person by the voter or a family member. All ballots must be signed by the voter, or if the voter is unable to sign, an assisting person.
Specially Qualified Voters
In addition to registered voters, certain "specially qualified voters" may vote by absentee ballot. A "specially qualified voter" is a person who is a Massachusetts citizen, living outside of the United States, who is at least eighteen years old and whose last residence in the United States was Massachusetts. You also may be a "specially qualified voter" if you are otherwise eligible to be a registered voter and your present domicile (a place where you live and plan to remain) is Massachusetts and you are: out of the Town because you are in the active service of the armed forces or merchant marine of the United States, or a spouse or dependent of such a person; absent from the Commonwealth; or confined in a correctional facility or jail.
Precinct Maps
Whole Town
Precinct 1 & 2
Precinct 3 & 4
Precinct 5 & 6
Precinct 7 & 8
Election Results
Town Elections
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
Special Town Elections
2007
2004
2001
State Elections
2006
2004
2002
2000
Special State Elections
2005
State Primaries
2006
2004
2002
2000
Special State Primaries
2005
Presidential Primaries
2004
2000
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