With Election Day right around the corner, communities are beginning the early voting process and Reminder Publishing connected with the cities and towns represented in The Herald for all information regarding early voting.
Early voting ballots may be cast between Saturday, Oct. 19, and Friday, Nov. 1, in all the communities featured.
Chicopee
Chicopee residents may cast their early ballots starting Saturday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Nov. 1, in-person at City Hall in the Auditorium or through mail, with an application to the Board of Registrars. Early voting location hours will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Chicopee City Clerk Keith Rattell told Reminder Publishing that as of Oct. 9, the city of Chicopee has received 7,610 applications for mailing of early voting ballots.
Granby
Granby Town Clerk Kathy Kelly-Regan told Reminder Publishing as of print time the town has 5,176 registered voters, showing already the difference in voter turnout based on the election.
“The past two primaries only had 50 people all week and I don’t expect a huge run at early voting due to so many requesting to vote by mail,” Kelly-Regan said. “Right now, Granby has mailed out approximately 1,400 ballots and I’m thinking by the time [early voting] by mail is over, maybe it will hit 1,500. That’s almost one third of Granby voters.”
Kelly-Regan added she anticipates another 1,800 to 2,000 at the polls on election day and hopes to hit 80% turnout of the voters of Granby between vote by-mail, in-person voting and the polls.
“Time will tell,” she added.
Early in-person voting in Granby will be at the Carnegie Building, or the Old Public Library. Hours for in-person early voting will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. again on Saturday.
Holyoke
Holyoke’s in-person early voting will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Holyoke City Clerk Brenna Murphy Leary told Reminder Publishing while the city does not have a percentage of voters from 2020 who voted via early voting, early voting in the past state primary was “extremely low.”
“But since this is a Presidential Election I anticipate it will be much higher,” Leary added about the average voter turnout between presidential and state elections.
South Hadley
In South Hadley, all in-person early voting will happen inside Town Hall. Early voting will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday’s from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Assistant Town Clerk Zoe Ingram shared with Reminder Publishing that of the 83% total turnout from the 2020 presidential election, 56% of those voters voted via early voting in person or by mail.
