(Image taken from: https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2022/08/05/how-to-vote-in-the-2022-elections-for-massachusetts-governor-attorney-general-and-more)
Staff Writer: Maya Arruda
Email: marruda7@umassd.edu
The 2022 fall elections are quickly approaching, with the final election date in Massachusetts being November 8th.
While the presidential elections are still two years away, this upcoming mid-term election offers the chance to vote for Congressional positions. For Massachusetts, only Congressional positions in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs.
Election for local officials will also be on the ballot. The governor and attorney general are up for election. Massachusetts state senate and state representatives will also be on the ballot.
Four questions will be on the Massachusetts ballot this year.
The first question is about an increase in taxation for only incomes above $1 million.
The second question is about dental insurance premiums, where insurance companies would be legally required to spend at least 83% of their clients’ premiums on dental care.
The third question is about alcohol licenses and the fines for selling alcohol to minors.
The fourth is about who is eligible to get a driver’s license in the state of Massachusetts.
See our in-depth article on the questions here.
In order to vote in the upcoming election, you first need to register to vote.
If you’re a residential student who is registered to vote in a different area or have never voted before, you’ll need to register to vote in this electoral district for your vote to count.
Saturday, October 29th, was the last day to register in time for the upcoming vote. However, don’t let that discourage you from registering to vote now, it’s better to do sooner rather than later. You’ll be able to vote in the presidential election in 2024.
MASSPIRG was offering a voter registration table last week on the 27th and 28th of October for students on campus before the deadline.
For those who’ve registered to vote in the upcoming election, be sure you know where to vote.
To mail in a vote, you have to first register to vote and then additionally register to vote by mail through a separate system. This year, they mailed the application to vote by mail to already registered voters. The deadline to register to vote by mail for the November 8th election was November 1st.
Unfortunately, if you didn’t meet the mail-in vote deadline, you will have to vote in person this year.
In-person voting will be held in certain locations divided by district.
For people who live on campus, the designated spot to vote is at Dartmouth Middle School. It’s on Slocum Road, right next to the Town Hall. There is a small parking lot in front of the school. There is another relatively small lot for the Town Hall that you may be able to park in. Both these lots will fill up very quickly, so more likely, you will have to park on the streets.
For those who do not own a vehicle on campus, there is a single bus stop where Slocum Road meets with State Road. Unfortunately, this would entail a very long walk of over one kilometer from the bus station to the school.
Commuter students who do not live on campus can find where to vote here if they’re registered to vote in the state of Massachusetts. It depends on your home address, city, and zip code. Similar sites exist for neighboring states.
SRTA buses will run from 7 A.M. to 12 A.M on election day.
If you intend to take the bus, you will have to arrive a bit earlier than anticipated to compensate for the walk time. If possible, talk to any of your friends that have a car and try to carpool.