Preparations ahead of 2021 Municipal Elections announced

The City of Boston’s Election Department today announced its preparations ahead of the 2021 Municipal Elections, including the availability of vote by mail and early voting for both the Tuesday, September 14, 2021 Preliminary Municipal Election and the Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Municipal Election. The City of Boston has also installed 20 ballot drop boxes across the city for voters to drop off completed vote by mail ballots. 

Applications for vote by mail ballots have been mailed out to every registered voter in Boston. Voters are asked to fill out the application, including their signature, as applications received without a signature will not be accepted. To be eligible to vote by mail in the Preliminary Municipal Election, applications must be returned to the Boston Election Department by Wednesday, September 8, at 5 p.m.

Vote by mail applications can be returned by U.S. mail with the prepaid postcard or in-person at the Boston Election Department, City Hall, Room 241.

If a registered Boston voter did not receive or lost their application, they can request a new ballot application by completing the form available on the City’s vote-by-mail website. The form can be sent to the City of Boston's Election Department, via mail, email, fax, or in-person. The Boston Election Department is located at:

• Boston City Hall 
• City Hall Square, Room 241 
• Boston, MA 02201 
• Fax: 617-635-4483, Tel: 617-635-VOTE (8683)
• Email: absenteevoter@boston.gov 

The Election Department will send out vote by mail ballots as soon as the application requests are processed. Once a voter receives their ballot package, they should follow the enclosed instructions. It is important to sign the yellow ballot affidavit envelope. Unsigned ballot affidavit envelopes will cause a ballot to be rejected. To return ballots by U.S. mail, make sure to apply sufficient postage. While ballot package weight can vary, two First Class stamps is generally sufficient.

To be counted, ballots must be received by the Boston Election Department or in a ballot drop box by the close of polls on Election Day, Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 8 p.m.

Boston voters can track their ballot request through the state's website. We will continue to mail ballots as applications arrive, until the application deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 8, 2021. 

The Boston Election Department has placed 20 ballot drop boxes around the City, including at both the first and third floor entrances of Boston City Hall. All drop boxes are monitored under 24 hour video surveillance. Drop boxes will also be available at each early voting location during the scheduled voting hours. To find a location of a ballot drop box, visit here.

Voters registered in Boston can vote during the early voting period from Saturday, September 4 through Friday, September 10, 2021, at any of the early voting sites. Hours and locations for early voting can be found here.

All early voting sites are equipped with electronic poll books for voter check in. Early voting locations are well staffed with poll workers and language interpreters, and fully accessible to voters with disabilities. 

Polling locations for the Boston Preliminary Municipal Election will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. Ballots will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. Language assistance will be available on Election Day by translators at polling locations or by contacting the Election Department’s translation phone bank. Those interested in volunteering can apply to be a poll worker here. 

The September 14, 2021 Preliminary Municipal Election includes eight candidates for the Office of Mayor, 17 candidates for Office of City Councilor at-Large and the following City Council Districts: District 4, District 6, District 7, District 9. The remaining districts are not required to have a preliminary election as there are already only one or two candidates running. 

For more information on how to participate in this year's elections, please visit boston.gov/election.