SPRINGFIELD — Springfield is a city with 118,023 registered voters. On Nov. 5, they will take to the polls in 42 places across the city. It is Springfield Election Commissioner and City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez’s job to make sure that process goes smoothly.
Voting in Springfield is coordinated between Oyola-Lopez, 64 wardens and about 400 poll workers.
Massachusetts requires poll workers to undergo training and swear an oath to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as an election officer, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the constitution and laws of the commonwealth” and of the United States Constitution.
At the Oct. 21 City Council meeting, Oyola-Lopez shared that in the first three days of the two-week early voting period, more than 800 people had taken advantage of the option, a record for the city.
“It seems to be a popular choice this election time,” she said. At the same time, 16,900 residents had requested mail-in ballots. Nov. 1 is the last day to use in-person early voting. Ballots can be cast at City Hall, 36 Court St., Room 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oyola-Lopez said, “We are in the process of estimating the number of voters who will wait until Nov. 5 to cast their ballots. Early voting assists in reducing lines and delays for voters on Election Day.”
Polls are open in Massachusetts from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. While electronic ballot boxes record the votes cast in real time, with a printout of the results available immediately, ballots with write-in candidates and any ballots that require visual confirmation are counted in the hours after polls close. According to Oyola-Lopez, counting those is usually complete by 11 p.m.
“Since ballots are counted on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., early votes will not influence the counting process once the polls have closed,” said Oyola-Lopez.
