Primary Registration Deadline Approaches
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With primary elections in the state pushed up more than a month this year, the deadline for voter registration is fast approaching.
Jan. 16 is the last day to either register to vote in the Feb. 5 primary or to change party affiliation. Town and city clerks' offices will be open until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, per state law, and requires only filling out a short form in person.
"It's a really simple process. Just fill out a form, get a signature and it's done," said Adams Town Clerk Paul Hutchinson.
Those registered as unenrolled (independent) voters will have their choice of four ballots on primary election day - Republican, Democrat, Green-Rainbow and Working Families. Nearly 50 percent of registered voters in the state declare no party affiliation and this is the first year that independents have been able to vote in the presidential primary without changing their status.
"If you're unenrolled and you go in to vote, you're asked which ballot you want. In previous elections, once you voted in the primary, you were enrolled in that party until you re-registered," said William Francis Galvin, secretary of the commonwealth, as reported in Boston's Weekly Dig. "Almost half of Massachusetts voters are unenrolled, for various reasons. This makes it attractive to them to participate in a primary without having to declare a party affiliation."
"People guard their unenrolled status very closely. This makes it easier for the voter," said Hutchinson.
Williamstown Town Clerk Mary Kennedy said she'd fielded many questions about voting with an unenrolled status but she'd also seen more residents embrace not having an affiliation with any specific party.
"I've had a significant amount of Republicans come in and change to Democrats or unenrolled," Kennedy said. According to The Boston Globe, 48.7 percent of Williamstown's registered voters are listed as unenrolled.
Joining 23 other states on Feb. 5, Massachusetts will be part of the largest "Super Tuesday" in history.
"We'll have more of a say in the presidential selection process than if we did it in March," said Hutchinson.
With less than a week to register, several state officials and organizations are trying to get the word out about the importance of registering to vote.
"It is extremely important to vote," said state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, at Friday's Democratic campaign kickoff in Pittsfield. "We try to educate, we try to get people involved but the best way to get people out is to have exciting candidates and vibrant elections. Luckily, that's what we have."
"We have to create excitement. We have to draw those lines between politics and other fields and come to see politics as part of our day-to-day lives. What we have to make those connections," said state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, at the same event.
"Voting is what the whole country is predicated on, the ability to choose your own leaders," Hutchinson said. "The question is, will the people come out?"
Kennedy added that the 2008 presidential election would draw more attention than past years - "There are no incumbents sitting there," she said - but she was concerned weather might be a factor in voter turnout.
"We usually have a good turnout, especially for presidential elections, but weather might have a big impact on who makes it out in February," she said.
While the presidential race is sure to dominate interest well into November, Hutchinson noted that local elections affect Berkshire life much more directly.
"You have much more power in voting in town elections," he said. "We all come out for the presidential races but the best way to get your voice heard is to vote in the community election."
A full list of poll locations will be available on iBerkshires.com at as the presidential primary nears. For more information on voting in Massachusetts, go to www.votinginfo.info/
