Northern Berkshire residents have until Wednesday to register to vote in the presidential election on Nov. 6.
Town and city clerk’s offices will be open until 8 p.m. on Oct. 17, per order of the state, for anyone who isn’t registered and wants to vote in the election. A person must be 18 years of age or older on or before the day of the election, and be a citizen of the United States in order to vote. A person must also be a resident of the community in which he plans to register.
Williamstown Town Clerk Mary Kennedy said Friday that a lot of people have already come to her office to register to vote, and she expects to see several more early next week.
"We’ve had about 240 people come in to register so far, and about 90 percent of those people have been Williams College students," she said.
She said there has been a group of Democratic students at the college pushing for Elizabeth Warren, and en couraging fellow students to register to vote in Massachusetts.
Warren is running against Republican Scott Brown for his seat in the U.S. Senate. There is also a race for the 8th Governor’s Councilor District. State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi is running unopposed for the 1st Berkshire District, and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal is running unopposed for the 1st Con gressional District.
Also appearing on the No vember ballot are three questions. Question 2 asks voters to legalize physician-assisted suicide,
A fourth ballot question seeks to reinforce a resolution passed by the state legislature asking the U.S. Congress to draft a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Su preme Court’s Citizens Uni ted ruling.
Kennedy said residents wanting to register to vote can either come to her office, or download a voter registration form from the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s website and mail it to her office at Town Hall, 31 North St. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked no later than Oct. 17 in order for a person to be added to the voter’s list for the Nov. 6 election, she said.
Anyone who is unsure of their voter registration status in Williamstown should call her office at 413-458-9341 before Wednesday, she said. A key group who should check their voter registration are students who have gone away to college, and then moved back to town, she said.
"They may have registered to vote in the city or town where they went to school, and if they did, they may not be registered to vote here," she said.
North Adams City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau said that about 300 people have registered to vote in the city since the state primary in September.
"A lot have been coming from the [Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts]. MASSPIRG is doing a big voter registration push over there," she said.
Besides being the last day to register to vote for the presidential election, Oct. 17 will also be the last day for any changes to be made to the voters lists used at the election, she said.
The City Clerk’s office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day at City Hall, 10 Main St., she said. Anyone with questions about voter registration can call her office at 413-662-3015, she said.
Adams Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said that as the presidential election ap proaches, her office has seen voter registration double from last year.
"Last year we had about 250 people register, and we’re already way over 500," she said.
She expects things will get busier Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, she said.
"We’ve been having several people coming in, and a lot of phone calls from people asking if they’re registered to vote in town," she said.
Her office has also been sending out tons of applications for absentee ballots, she said.
Anyone wishing to request an absentee ballot, or who has questions about their voter registration, can call her office at 413-743-8320, she said. Absentee ballots are also available in William stown and North Adams.
Gomeau said that with the mail now being slower coming to and going from North Adams, she is advising people mailing in their absentee ballots to have them postmarked no later than Oct. 27.
To reach Meghan Foley, email
mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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