ORANGE — In consideration of voter turnout, the Selectboard opted this week to make an adjustment to election polling hours following a recommendation from Town Clerk Nancy Blackmer.
Blackmer went before the board Wednesday to suggest elections be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. when there is no more than one contested race. One such election was held at the municipal offices at 62 Cheney St. on March 6, and Blackmer said fewer than 200 voters showed up. Of the 15 municipal positions that were up for grabs, only nine had candidates running.
“We were open from 10 in the morning till 8 at night. That’s a lot of money for a very low turnout,” she said. “I’ve talked to some other clerks and when they have an election where there’s no contests, they cut their hours back.”
Blackmer noted the town generally sees only one to two voters between 7 and 8 p.m. on election days.
State law requires polls to open by noon, be open at least four hours, and close no later than 8 p.m., according to Blackmer. Her recommendation included amending polling hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for elections with two or more contested races. She said the town can’t close polls before 8 p.m. for state and federal elections, but state law allows it for local ones.
The town clerk said she would love to see more contested races and higher voter turnout, but these polling changes will save money. She also said Massachusetts allows voting by mail, though only eight to 10 Orange residents did so this month. She assumes this was due to the absence of contested races.
Following Blackmer’s recommendations, Selectboard Chair Tom Smith asked for motion to approve them, which was made by Vice Chair Andrew Smith and seconded by Clerk Pat Lussier. The motion passed unanimously.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.