State drops nighttime voter registration

Those who wait until the last minute to register to vote in this fall’s Massachusetts Primary Election must register in their local town clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Aug. 19.

Until last week, state law mandated town clerks in towns with fewer than 1,500 voters to hold a 7 to 8 p.m. voter registration hour. And voter registration in towns with more than 1,500 voters was held from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

But Secretary of State William Galvin has now dropped evening hours for the deadline date of voter registration.

Towns with more than 1,500 voters are required to hold voter registration sessions on Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And small towns, with fewer than 1,500 voters will have voter registration sessions on Aug. 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Besides signing up to vote, voters who want to change their party designation, or change their address or their name must make those changes by Aug. 19 as well.