SWAMPSCOTT — Early voting begins Saturday at Town Hall for the Oct. 19 special town election, which will ask voters to approve funding for a new district-wide elementary school.
Voters can also submit an absentee ballot or participate in mail-in voting ahead of the election.
Residents can vote early at Town Hall on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and next Friday, Oct. 15 from 8 a.m. to noon, according to Town Clerk Susan Duplin.
Registered voters don’t need to sign up in advance to participate; they can simply visit Town Hall during the designated early voting hours to cast a ballot. Masks are required in municipal buildings and voters will also be required to adhere to social-distancing protocols, Duplin said.
The only question on the ballot is for a proposed new elementary school, which was approved at Town Meeting last month. Voters will be asked to approve a Proposition 2 ½, or debt override, to find the construction of a new K-4 elementary school on the site of the current Stanley Elementary School, at 10 Whitman Road. The new school would replace the town’s three existing elementary schools — Clarke, Hadley, and Stanley — which have an average age of about 90 years old.
“’Yes’ means yes we’ll get the new school; ‘no’ means no, it won’t happen,’” Duplin said. “It’s not a tricky question where ‘yes’ means ‘no.’”
If approved, the town would be responsible for approximately $64 million of the school’s estimated cost of $97.67 million. Since the project has been approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the state would reimburse the town approximately $34.35 million for its share of the school’s cost.
The new school would have an estimated annual net impact of $300 on the median, single-family tax bill, according to the Finance Committee.
Absentee and mail-in ballots can be applied for on the town’s website — www.swampscottma.gov — Absentee ballots can be requested by family members of the voter, but mail-in ballots can only be requested by the voter. All requests must be sent to Duplin by Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. Applications can be submitted by email, fax, or in person at the town clerk’s office.
These ballots can be emailed, faxed, dropped off at the town clerk’s office, or placed in the 24-hour secure ballot box outside of Town Hall; they must be submitted by election day in order to be counted, Duplin said.
The special election will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 19; polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Swampscott High School cafeteria. The school will be having an early release that day and the Senior Center, which is connected to the high school, will be closed that morning.
Once polls close, Duplin said voters won’t have to wait too long for results.
“Results will be posted immediately at the polls,” Duplin said. “It’s not something they’ll have to wait any time for.”
