You Ask, Patch Answers: Cost to Winchester For Upcoming Special Election

With a special election slated for this spring to fill the Senate seat formerly occupied by Secretary of State John Kerry, local election departments, including the Winchester Town Clerk's office, across the state are scrambling to organize.

Some have asked how much the special election will cost Winchester.

I asked Winchester Town Clerk Mary Ellen Lannon about the situation in Winchester.

Lannon said special elections cost the city about $25,000. So, with a primary scheduled for April 30 and the state election scheduled for June 25, this year's special election will cost Winchester about $50,000. That money pays for things like staffing the polls, police details, supplies and printing the ballots, according to Lannon.

Lannon said her department is busy handling several tasks at the moment, including registering new voters, certifying nomination papers, preparing polling locations, compiling census data and also preparing for the annual Town Meeting on April 29. 

To encourage registered voters to submit their census, Lannon explained that to get their transfer station permits is by submitting the census. If a registered voter does not do so, they become a "deactivated voter" and must go through "a bunch of paperwork" if they want to vote come election day, so to avoid the hassle the Town Clerk's office asks voters to turn in their census.

She hopes the majority of the census data will be processed by mid-April.

Due to a timing issue, Winchester was unable to merge their local election with the special election which "could have saved us a few thousand dollars but it would not have saved us $25,000," Lannon said.

Lannon anticipates having roughly 64 election day workers working the four polling places. There are eight precincts in Winchester, she added.

Voters can cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the special election.