Williamsburg Town Clerk

09/15/2026

The Highway Department wants to inform residents that on Thursday, September 17, a portion of Ashfield Road will be getting paved. Expect delays on that day and avoid the area if you can.

On Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30, Adams Road will be getting paved. Again, expect delays and avoid the area if you can.

Send a message to learn more

09/14/2026

The More You Know - Ballot questions answered part 3

Question: Will I still be able to vote by mail in the November 3, 2026 State Election, and if so, how can I help make the process smooth?
Answer: Yes. As of today, September 14, 2026, in Massachusetts, vote by mail will still apply to the November 3rd election. We are expecting to receive our ballots by the end of this month and have them in the mail, to those that have requested their ballot by mail, by the first week of October.

You can request a ballot by mail many ways.
Online at www.mass.gov, use the application attached to the drop box here at Town Hall, or call us and we can email/mail you an application.
Also, the State has mailed out postcards to any voter who has not already requested a ballot by mail, so you can just return that postcard to us. Using the drop box at Town Hall, for return mail, is the quickest method.
To make the process go more smoothly, once you receive your ballot, use the drop box here at Town Hall to return your ballot, instead of mailing it back.

Don't wait weeks to let us know you did not receive your ballot. Once we mail them out, you can track your ballot at www.mass.gov by putting "track my ballot" in the search bar. If it has been over a week since it was mailed to you and you have not received your ballot, give us a call, we will spoil the first ballot and mail out another one.

Also, even if you have already requested a ballot by mail, you still have the option to come and vote early in person. Once you vote early in person, the ballot we mailed you will automatically be rejected. There is no way to vote twice. Early in-person voting will be at Town Hall in the auditorium from October 17th - 30th. Check our website for the hours each day.

We understand there are lots of questions and anxiety over the November election and we are here to answer those questions and to remove the anxiety. Please give us a call, 413-268-8402 or email [email protected], with any questions about elections at all. We are happy to explain any part of the process that concerns you.
It is very important that every voters voice is heard. You do this by voting and, in my opinion, the most important job of your Town Clerk is to be sure every vote counts and every voter votes. We do this by being here for you every step of the way.

Please share this post. We are trying to reach as many residents as possible. Thank you

Official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

09/14/2026

Williamsburg's Early Voting Hours for 11/3/26 Election

09/10/2026

THE MORE YOU KNOW - Ballot questions answered, part 2

Question: What happens to my mail-in ballot after I return it to the Town Clerk?

Answer: Whether you return your mail-in ballot by mail or use the drop box or hand deliver, all ballots are managed the same.

First, the outer envelope is time/date stamped. Next the inner ballot envelope is removed from the outer envelope and also time/date stamped. Next, the vote by mail application is pulled and compared to the ballot envelope to be sure the signatures match. Next each ballot envelope is scanned into the State voter database to record when the ballot was received and how. Then the ballot envelopes are sorted by precinct and alphabetical by voter name and stored in the walk-in safe at Town Hall until election day.

On the day of the election, all the ballots, still sealed in their envelopes, are taken to the polls. They are distributed to the correct precinct where they are then checked in just as if a person were there. A list is pulled from the State voter rolls of every ballot that was mailed and the physical ballot envelope is checked against this list.

Lastly, the ballot is separated from their envelope face down, keeping the ballots and envelopes separated to maintain secrecy of the vote and then the ballots are put through the tabulators and counted. This is why you may see election workers putting multiple ballots through at a time. They are processing the vote-by mail ballots.

So, as you can see, there is a lengthy checks and balances system for mail-in ballots. This is why we ask you to return your ballot as early as you can and with many to process, it is quite a task.

As always, please feel free to contact the Town Clerk's office with any questions abot elections. We are here to help everyone understand the process and feel confident however you choose to vote.

09/10/2026

THE MORE YOU KNOW - Ballot questions answered:

Question: What happens when I write-in my friends name or Santa Claus or Mickey Mouse, on my ballot as a joke? (yes we get these every election)

Answer: Based on State Law regarding tallying ballots, first, that ballot gets pulled aside at the close of the election, hand counted and the information for all write-ins is manually documented. Depending on the volume, this can take us over an hour to do.

At the end of the count, the votes are tallied up and if a person received more votes than anyone else for that race, in a local election, they are elected. For a State Election, you can see how you would need to have thousands of votes to win a race.

If it is a fictitious name, that vote is counted as a blank and the totals are adjusted. If it is a real name but only a few votes, they are recorded in the record as "all others" and the individual names are not recorded in the final tally.

As you can see, this drastically slows down the process of getting results at the end of the night, when lots of miscellaneous write-in votes must be hand counted and recorded.

While it is your ballot and you are free to vote as you wish, just be aware of what happens on the back end of write-in votes and how this delays the reporting of election results.

If you are interested in the closing out of an election, let the Town Clerk's Office know and we are happy to have you join us and observe the end of the night processes.

Any questions, please feel free to call the Town Clerk's office at 413-268-8402 or [email protected]. Thank you :)

09/10/2026

Now that the State Primary is over, the next election is November 3, 2026 with voting from 7 am to 8 pm at the Town Office in the auditorium.

Here is some information for voters or future voters. The State will be mailing out new postcards around September 18th for those who didn't return them for mail-in voting for the primary. Anyone who already sent us a postcard will not receive another one as you are already entered to receive a mail-in ballot for the November 3rd election. If you have any questions, please call my office.

Your 2026 Voting Options:
Voters in Massachusetts can choose to cast their ballots in the way that is most convenient for them.

If you are registered to vote, you can vote:
1. At your polling place on November 3.
2. At an early voting site, which is the Town Clerk's Office, in Haydenville, from October 17 through October 30. Early Voting hours will be posted soon.
3. By mail.

You can choose any one of the above options. Before you decide, read below to learn more about the process.

VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
You have only one polling place, which is the Town Office, 141 Main Street, Haydenville.

Polling places on Election Day in Massachusetts are open from 7 am until 8 pm. If you are an eligible voter, you can cast a ballot as long as you are in line at your polling place by 8 pm.

VOTING EARLY
In-person early voting will begin on Saturday, October 17 and end on Friday, October 30.

The early voting period includes two weekends, and every city and town is required to offer some early voting hours on both weekends.

Every city and town will have at least one early voting location. In Williamsburg, that is the Town Clerk's office.

Early voting locations and schedules are set by your local election official in your community. These schedules will be posted at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/elections-and-voting.htm no later than October 1o, 2026.

Make sure you check your community's schedule before you make your plan to vote. Many communities have limited or no voting hours on Fridays.

VOTING BY MAIL
State law allows you to cast your ballot by mail, without needing a reason to do so. To request your mail-in ballot, you need to submit a Vote By Mail application to your local election office.

Every registered voter was mailed an official Vote By Mail postcard application earlier this year. You can use that application to request your ballot, or apply online at www.VoteInMA.com. Printable applications are also available.

We recommend you apply by:
October 13, if you are mailing your application or October 20, if you apply online.

Your Vote by Mail application will be honored as long as it reaches your local election office by 5 p,m, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, but you should apply earlier if you are planning to return your ballot by mail.

You can return your ballot:
By mail
By secure ballot drop box in your city or town
By hand, at an early voting location in your city or town
By hand, at your local election official's office

If you have not mailed your ballot within one week before Election Day, it is strongly recommended that you return your ballot by drop box or in person, to ensure your ballot can be counted.

Visit https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/elections-and-voting.htm to check that your information is up to date, especially if you have moved since the last election.

If you have a MA Driver's license, you can register to update your information at the same website.

If you do not have a MA Driver's llicense, you can register to vote using a paper application, either by mail or in personb at your local election official's office or early voting location.

You must be registered to vote by Saturday, October 24, 2026, in order to vote in the November 3 election.

You can register to vote:
Online, until 11:59 p.m. on October 24
By mail, with a form postmarked by Ocotober 24
In person, by 5 p.m. on October 24

09/08/2026

Good afternoon, this is the Williamsburg Town Clerk with some important information regarding Town Offices and Adams Road paving. The Town Office parking lot will be closed for repaving beginning Thursday 9/17 and is expected to continue through Saturday 9/19. Town Offices will be CLOSED Thursday 9/17 as well as regularly scheduled Friday closure on 9/18, and there will be NO PARKING LOT ACCESS during this time. There will be NO SENIOR CENTER MEAL on Thursday 9/17. In addition, the Congregational Church’s Community Potluck on Friday 9/18 is CANCELLED.

Also, on Monday, September 14 and Tuesday, September 15, there will be paving occurring on Adams Road which will cause some traffic delays. Please avoid travelling that road if possible.
Thank you.

Send a message to learn more

08/31/2026

Voting day is tomorrow for the State Primary from 7 am until 8 pm. Voting will take place at the Town Offices, upstairs in the auditorium. If you requested a mailed ballot, the last ones were sent out on August 25. I did receive some voter cards back after August 22 but am unable to mail those ballots out as they would never reach you in time and be able to be back to me in time for the ballot to count. You can check your voter status here:
https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx

If you have moved to Williamsburg within the last six months but have not registered yet, you can check with the Town you moved here from. You may be able to vote there.

Thank you and see you tomorrow!

08/23/2026

We are aware of a few recent COVID cases connected to people who spent time in the Town Office Building last week. While the risk of further transmission is low, we are taking the following steps to respond to the situation, in the interest of appropriate precaution and protecting vulnerable members of the community:

- The COA Office and Senior Center will be closed this week, and all Senior Center programs – meals, fitness classes, etc. – are canceled for the week.

- We recommend that people coming into the building this week mask if they wish to.

We will provide further updates and public health guidance as appropriate. For a refresher on how to prevent respiratory illnesses and care for yourself if you test positive, visit:

Recommendations for the general public

08/21/2026

Early voting for the State Primary starts tomorrow from 9 am to 5 pm in the Town Clerk’s Office.