MA: Boston City Council: Who is running and how to vote
Election season in Boston is in full swing, with the city’s preliminary municipal election coming up on Sept. 12.
Residents will be able to vote for candidates running to represent Districts 3, 5, 6, and 7 on Boston City Council. The purpose of the preliminary election is to whittle down the number of candidates in each race before the general municipal election on Nov. 7. In each district race, voters will have to decide on two candidates to square off in the general election. Districts 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, and the at-large City Council race did not garner enough qualified candidates to trigger preliminary elections.
Voters can check their registration status on the state’s website. Early voting opened on Saturday and runs through Friday, Sept. 8. Any registered Boston voter can vote at any early voting location during this period. Residents should head to the polling location most convenient to them. Early voting locations by date can be found on the city’s website. Voting can also be done by mail. Applications to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the preliminary election must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Information on getting an accessible ballot can also be found online.
On election day, polling locations will be open throughout the city from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling locations using the state’s website.
To find out which district they reside in, residents can use this map from the city. City Council recently underwent a contentious and protracted redistricting process where a judge threw out a previously approved map following a lawsuit bankrolled in part by two councilors. A new map was approved in May. Most of the boundaries between districts were unchanged, but notable shifts happened in Dorchester, Mattapan, and the South End.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2023/09/04/boston-city-council-candidates-how-to-vote-preliminary-election-september-12-2023/