The City of Somerville and the Somerville High School Student Council encourage eligible residents to register so that they are able to vote in the upcoming election on November 6. Eligible 16- and 17-year-olds may also pre-register now to be automatically enrolled as voters when they turn 18.

There are multiple ways to register (see below), and Somerville High School students, as well as Tufts University students, are conducting voter registration and pre-registration drives on their respective campuses.

Eligible voters have until Wednesday, October 17 (by 8 p.m. if registering in person at City Hall or by 11:59 p.m. if registering online) to register to vote in the upcoming November 6 election. But it’s always best not to wait until the last minute! October 17 is also the deadline for voters to update their address or change party affiliation.

Residents may register to vote either online, in person, or by mail:

• register online at www.registertovotema.com,
• register in person by visiting the Elections Department at Somerville City Hall at 93 Highland Ave.,
• register by mail by either
  • calling the Elections Department at 617-625-6600 x4200 to have a voter registration form mailed to you, or
  • visiting www.somervillema.gov/elections to print a registration form to mail in.

Please note that online applications require a valid ID issued by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), as well as a signature on file with the RMV (in most cases persons with I.D.’s will have signatures on file, but just in case yours is not, don’t wait until the last minute to register online).

Multiple Races and Questions on the Ballot

This year, voters will decide three ballot questions and a number of races, including those for the offices of Governor, Senator in Congress, Representative in Congress, Senator and Representative in the State Legislature, MA Attorney General, Middlesex District Attorney, and more.

The three ballot questions to be decided are 1) whether to  limit how many patients may be assigned to each registered nurse in Massachusetts hospitals and certain other health care facilities, 2) whether to create a citizens commission to consider and recommend potential amendments to the U.S. Constitution to establish that corporations do not have the same Constitutional rights as human beings and that campaign contributions and expenditures may be regulated, and 3) and whether to add gender identity to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in places of public accommodation, resort, or amusement.

Sample ballots will be online soon and more elections information is available atwww.somervillema.gov/elections.