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Date: 3/16/2023
AGAWAM – The City Council will consider ending mail-in voting in local elections on April 3.
Although the item was on the agenda for the meeting on March 6, Council President Christopher Johnson announced the council would not take up the issue in order to conduct a public hearing at its April 3 meeting.
If the town decides to opt out it would affect how voting is conducted for the fall 2023 municipal election.
Chapter 92, the state law that defines voting methods other than by in-person and by absentee ballot, says cities and towns shall allow voting by mail for municipal, state and special primary and general elections, but says a city council “may, after a public hearing and by recorded and public vote not less than 45 days prior to the date of the preliminary or election, opt out of the provisions of this subsection for any regular or special municipal preliminary or municipal election.” The law does not allow cities and towns to opt out of voting by mail for state elections.
Agawam’s municipal elections are in November of odd-numbered years, and preliminary elections – if necessary to reduce the number of candidates to not more than twice the number of seats available – are traditionally in September.
Two town residents spoke in favor of maintaining the early voting by mail. Susan Grossberg said that early voting by mail would cost the town $28,000, or approximately a dollar per resident.
“That’s a small price to pay for people to have access to the ballot,” she said.
Corrine Wingard said that Agawam has had an “abysmal voting turnout.” With the mail-in voting in place because of the coronavirus pandemic in recent years, there was an increase in turnout of almost 20 percent, she asserted, and urged the council to keep it in place.