Charlton City, Massachusetts Public Records

Citizens, at least 18 years old by election day, and Massachusetts residents. No ID is required to register, though voters must provide either a Massachusetts driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The town holds elections annually on the first Monday in May for local offices including Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Planning Board, Board of Health, and other municipal positions. Selectmen serve three-year staggered terms, with typically two seats contested each year. The annual Town Meeting in May allows registered voters to decide the town budget, local bylaws, and other municipal matters through direct democracy. There is no mayor; the community operates under the open town meeting form of government with a Board of Selectmen serving as the executive authority. Voters can find their assigned polling location using the state's polling place locator at www.sec.state.ma.us/wheredoivotema or by contacting the Town Clerk. Most residents cast ballots at Charlton Elementary School, 2 Oxford Road, Charlton, MA 01507, though precinct assignments should be verified before election day. Local elections for town positions will be held in May 2026 rather than November. Massachusetts offers no-excuse absentee voting, known as early voting by mail. Any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot for any election by completing an application available through the Town Clerk's office or online at www.sec.state.ma.us/ele. Applications must be submitted by four business days before the election, though ballots must be received by 8 PM on election day to be counted, postmarks do not count. The state also offers in-person early voting during a designated period before elections, with specific dates and locations announced by the Town Clerk. Public election records in Massachusetts include voter registration lists (available to candidates and political committees with restrictions on use), campaign finance reports filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) at www.ocpf.us, candidate nomination papers and filing information maintained by the Town Clerk, and precinct-level election results published after each election on both the town and state websites. The Secretary of State maintains a election results database at www.sec.state.ma.us/ele covering all federal, state, and county races.