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Date: 7/29/2022
BRIMFIELD – Town Clerk Debra Fagerstrom discussed voting by mail with the Brimfield Select Board during their July 18 meeting.
She said, “For all primary, state and presidential elections, [now] vote by mail has become law. As a town we have the option to opt out of vote by mail for our local elections.”
To do so, Fagerstrom explained that the Select Board would have to host a public hearing and roll call to ultimately reach a decision.
Fagerstrom said she views opting out of the mail-in voting as “an advantage” based on manpower and expenses.
She went on to ask the board to opt out for at least the next local election, by hosting a public meeting in advance.
Fagerstrom noted that another part of opting out is that early voting is not allowed. “If you want to do that it has to come from the Board of Registrars and they have to petition the Select Board to have a hearing,” she said. “It’s more complicated now to offer that, but at the same time we have absentee ballots.”
Select Board member Anthony Soto shared that educating the public on this is crucial. He reiterated that the town is not taking away anyone’s rights to vote, as the absentee ballot option will remain.
As of the date of the meeting, the opt-out for mail-in voting is per year.
With nearly one year until the next local election, Fagerstrom predicted that a public hearing would likely take place in early 2023.
Vice Chair Suzanne Collins expressed that she is in favor of hosting a public hearing to obtain public feedback. Select Board member George Adams agreed.
The board unanimously agreed to vote on this during their Aug. 1 meeting.
Appointments
Roger DeBruyn was appointed to a one-year term on the Agricultural Committee.
Abigail, Claire and Ellie Hill were appointed to a one-year term to Cable Public Access.
Matthew DeCiero was appointed to a one-year term as Cable Public Access coordinator.
Jerry Knouse was appointed to a three-year term on the Conservation Commission.
Lastly, Sean Connor was appointed to a one-year term as emergency management director.