Shirley guidelines set

SHIRLEY — The state primary will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Shirley Town Offices. The deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation is Friday, Aug. 17.

Absentee ballots are available and must be requested in writing. Absentee ballot applications are accepted until noon on Sept. 5. Information about the offices and candidates on the ballot will be available at www.shirley-ma.gov, on bulletin boards at businesses in Shirley Village, and various public buildings.

In a primary, voters are choosing parties’ representatives to run against each other and non-party candidates in the later general election. Voters who are enrolled in the Democratic, Green-Rainbow or Republican parties may vote only in their party’s primary. Voters who are unenrolled (registered, but not enrolled in a party, commonly known as independent) may choose which party’s primary to vote in.

In addition to the three “political parties” there are 22 legal “political designations” which voters may be enrolled in instead. Voters enrolled in any of these political designations may not vote in the primary.

The Shirley town clerk’s office will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, for voter registration. Registration forms can be completed at any town or city clerk’s office in Massachusetts. Mail-in forms are available at www.shirley-ma.gov and the Hazen Memorial Library, and should be mailed to Shirley town clerk’s office, 7 Keady Way, Shirley, MA 01464. You can also request a form be mailed to you by calling 1-800-462-VOTE (8683) or emailing your request to elections@sec.state.ma.us.

Contact Town Clerk Amy McDougall at 978-425-2600, ext. 205, or amcdougall@shirley-ma.gov for information.