With upcoming elections in Massachusetts and local elections in Newburyport, there is much to know in preparation for voting and registration is a good place to start. The 2021 deadline for registering to vote in Massachusetts is Wednesday, October 13th at 11:59 pm and election day is Tuesday, November 2nd with polls open from 7 am – 8 pm. Newburyport residents will vote for a new Mayor, unopposed City Council positions and in a competitive race for School Committee positions. If you need information about the candidates for Mayor you can visit their websites: Charlie Tontar Website and Sean Reardon Website.
You can also visit the Mayoral Candidate’s social media pages which are updated regularly with new information and are helpful to differentiate the candidates. Here are the links for Sean Reardon facebook and Charlie Tontar facebook as well as the Sean Reardon Instagram and Charlie Tontar Insagram. You can also watch the live stream of the Newburyport Chamber Candidate discussions as well as the most recent Storm Surge/Daily News Debate.
There are six Newburyport School Committee Candidates vying for three positions. School Committee candidates are elected for a four year term. The School Committee candidates are: Daniel Blair, Steven Cole, Brian Callahan, Sarah Hall, Laura Viola Maccarone and Juliet Walker. Brian Callahan and Steven Cole are incumbents running for re-election. To hear from the Newburyport School Committee Candidates you can listen to the first part of the recent Daily News debate.
All City Council candidates are elected for two year terms and all are running unopposed for the current election. The following is a list of the City Council Ward Candidates. Ward 1 – Sharif Zeid, Ward 2 – Jennie Donahue, Ward 3 – Heather Shand, Ward 4 – Christine Wallace, Ward 5 – James McCauley, Ward 6 – Byron Lane. All ward City Council candidates are incumbents running for re-election except for Jennie Donahue. Scroll down to voting locations if you don’t know your ward. The following is a list of the City Council At-Large Candidates: Edward Cameron Jr., Afroz Khan, Constance Preston, Bruce Vogel and Mark Wright. Afroz Khan and Bruce Vogel are incumbents running for re-election.
Below you will find general information on a variety of election related topics: Newburyport voting locations, early voting information, how to confirm if you are registered to vote, registration information for folks interested in registering to vote in future elections. You will also find a summary that explains our Congressional District and our MA State District and links to the folks who currently represent us.
What offices are we voting for in the 2021 Newburyport elections?
The 2021 election ballot will ask you to vote for the following positions.
- Vote for one candidate for a four year Mayor term.
- Vote for one candidate for City Council in your specific Ward for a two year term. There is only one candidate per ward.
- Vote for a maximum of five of the five City Council At Large candidates for a two year term.
- Vote for a maximum of three of the six School Committee candidates for a four year term.
Where do I go to vote?
Your street address determines where you are allowed to vote on election day, Tuesday, November 2nd. To figure out where you need to go, check out the Find My Election Info web page, enter in your address and find out the address of your personal poling location. Here are the locations for registered Newburyport voters.
City of Newburyport Voting Locations:
Ward 1P Plum Island Boat House – 300 Northern Blvd.
Ward 1 People’s United Methodist Church – 64 Purchase Street
ward 2 Brown School – Lime & Milk Streets – Open for election day with space heaters to keep folks warm.
Ward 3 Hope Community Church – 11 Hale Street
Ward 4 Hope Community Church – 11 Hale Street
Ward 5 Senior Community Center – 331 High Street
Ward 6 Senior Community Center – 331 High Street
Am I allowed to vote early?
As long as you are registered for the general election, you can vote as early as October 25. Early voting is available at the Newburyport Senior Center location during the following remaining days/times: Wednesday 10/27 from 8:30-3:30, Thursday 10/28 from 8:30-6:30 and Friday 10/29 from 8:30-11:30.
Am I registered to vote?
If you’re not sure whether or not you’re registered to vote, you can check your status with a quick search here by providing your name, birthdate and zip code.
If not, how do I register for future elections?
If you are a citizen of the United States of America, are over 16, and have an ID issued by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, you can register online. Use the Online Voter Registration System to do any of the following tasks: register or pre-register to vote, update your address or political party, or update your name. To register, you only need to provide your drivers’ license number, no need to upload any documents. If the information is correct, you will receive a confirmation email within a day or two and then you’ll be good to go. If you’d rather register by mail or in person, you can find instructions here. But make sure you do it by October 13th!
What Congressional District do I live in?
Massachusetts has nine Congressional Districts. The Sixth Congressional District represented by Seth Moulton includes: the Essex County cities of Amesbury, Beverly, Gloucester, Lynn, Newburyport, Peabody, and Salem and the towns of Andover, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Groveland, Hamilton, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Merrimac, Middleton, Nahant, Newbury, North Andover, Rockport, Rowley, Salisbury, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield, Wenham, and West Newbury.
Which MA State District am I part of and who are my Representatives?
For the Massachusetts State Legislature Newburyport is part of the First Essex District. The Upper State Legislative District includes the following Cities and Towns: Amesbury, Haverhill, Merrimac, Methuen, Newburyport, North Andover and Salisbury which is represented by Senator Diana DiZoglio. The Lower State Legislative District includes the following Cities and Towns: Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury and is represented by Representative James Kelcourse. James Kelcourse is currently running for Mayor of Amesbury. If he wins that election then a special election will be held to fill his seat in the State Legislature. If he does not win the Amesbury Mayor election then he will maintain his seat as our Representative. To view district maps and more information, check out Statistical Analysis.
What is Newburyport.com’s Role?
Newburyport.com is not a political website. We are a local media company focused on promoting our local small business and nonprofit customers as well as local events in the area. When we see it may be helpful to the community we utilize the broad reach of the Newburyport.com website and the Newburyport VIP Social Media platform to help broadcast important information. We have created this summary article in hopes that it enables folks to more easily find voting and election information, important links and answers to frequently asked questions all in one place. We do not promote specific candidates running for office but we do occasionally highlight positive news that features some of our local elected officials on our Newburyport VIP facebook and Newburyport VIP Instagram pages. We also list important information such as debates and election day information on the Newburyport.com Events Calendar in order for folks to easily access information.
