Election Department Issues Reminders Ahead Of General Municipal Election; Issues Call For Poll…

Early voting will take place at sites throughout the City starting Saturday, October 25, through Friday, October 31.

The Boston Election Department is reminding voters that the General Municipal Election will take place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. This election will determine the Mayor of the City of Boston as well as the 13 Councilors on the Boston City Council. This includes the nine District City Councilors and four At-Large City Councilors.

Poll Worker Recruitment

The Election Department is recruiting poll workers for the upcoming General Municipal Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Poll workers are paid a stipend ranging from $160-200 in addition to payment for required training. Being a poll worker is a meaningful way to give back, participate in democracy, and help neighbors vote in free and fair elections. Residents can request to be assigned a location close to their home. Bilingual applicants are strongly encouraged. Residents can apply or get more information at boston.gov/pollworkers, by emailing the Election Department at [email protected], or by calling 617-635-0905.

Voter Registration

The voter registration deadline for the November 4 General Municipal Election is Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Voters may register:

• In person: At the Boston Election Department, 1 City Hall Square, Room 241, Boston, MA 02201, by Saturday, October 25, 5:00 p.m.
• Online: At voteinma.com by Saturday, October 25, 11:59 p.m.
• By mail: Registration forms must be postmarked by October 25

In-Person Early Voting

In-person early voting will run from Saturday, October 25 through Friday, October 31. Registered Boston voters can vote at any early voting location.

Boston City Hall will serve as the primary early voting site, with voting on:

• Monday, October 27, Wednesday, October 29, and Friday, October 31, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 30, from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Voters are encouraged to enter Boston City Hall using the North side entrance on Congress Street (across from the Haymarket T-Station).

Additional early voting locations are available in neighborhoods throughout the city on the following dates:

• Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26, from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 28, and Thursday, October 30, from 12 - 8 p.m.

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

Vote By Mail Application

The vote by mail application deadline is Tuesday, October 28 at 5:00 p.m. Voters may apply for a vote by mail ballot through the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website, by visiting the Election Department in room 241 at City Hall, or by mailing an application.

Absentee Voting

Voters can vote by absentee ballot if:

• They will be away from their city or town on Election Day
• They have a religious belief that prevents them from voting at their polling location on Election Day
• They have a disability that prevents them from voting at their polling location

The in-person absentee voting deadline is Monday, November 3 at 12:00 p.m. All applications for mail-in ballots must reach the Election Department by 5 p.m. on October 28.

Ballot Return

The Election Department mailed out all 51,769 requested vote-by-mail and absentee ballots, and as of Thursday, October 23, 11,602 ballots have been returned to the City.

Voters who planned to return their ballots by U.S. Mail and have not mailed their ballots within one week of Election Day are encouraged to return their ballots through other means, to ensure they will be counted. Ballot packages must be received by the Boston Election Department no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Voters may return their ballots until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day to any of the 22 drop boxes across the City or in person at the Election Department in City Hall.

Reminder: All ballot drop boxes will be closed as early as 8am on October 31 and reopened on November 1 by 2:00 pm. Voters can deposit their ballot after the box is reopened or deliver it to the Boston Election Department, City Hall Room 241.

Ballots cannot be returned to a polling location on Election Day.

Voters can track their ballot through the state's website. If there is no movement indicated in the "Track My Ballot" system, voters should plan to vote in person on Election Day at their assigned precinct. Voters can check their polling location/status online.

Accessible Voting

The Accessible Electronic Voting System allows voters who are unable to independently read, write, hold, or physically manipulate or mark ballots to submit their ballot via a secure electronic delivery system. Voters who qualify for an Accessible Electronic Ballot may apply online. The deadline to apply for an accessible ballot is Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 5 p.m. To get access to the electronic ballot, voters will need to provide their email address.

Voting On Election Day

Polling locations open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. A list of polling locations and sample ballots can be found. As a reminder, voters should check their registration status via the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website. Printed ballots will be available in English and Spanish, English and Chinese, and English and Vietnamese. Language interpreters will also be available upon request. All voting locations are wheelchair accessible and are equipped with an AutoMark Voter Assist Terminal for voters with disabilities to assist with marking the ballot independently.

Polling Location Change

Voters in Ward 3, Precinct 9, will now vote at the West End Neighborhood Center at 75 Blossom Court. Voters enter from Thoreau Path.

Poll Pads Electronic Check-in

The Boston Election Department has expanded the use of Poll Pads electronic check-in devices across all 275 precincts for voter check-in on Election Day. This upgrade speeds up the check-in process and enhances communication with the Election Department, in alignment with what voters experienced during the Preliminary Municipal Election in September.

Before the 2025 Preliminary Municipal Election, Poll Pads were used successfully during Early Voting since 2016. The voting process for voters remains the same: voters will check in with a poll worker, receive a paper ballot, mark their vote, and cast it as usual.

Central Tabulation

On Monday, October 27, the City of Boston will begin removing General Municipal Election mail-in and in-person early voted ballots for all 275 precincts from their envelopes and depositing these ballots into a tabulator in Boston City Hall located at One City Hall Square, Room 801, Boston, MA 02201.

Only ballots received prior to Friday, October 31, 2025 will be removed and deposited in Room 801.

Advance Processing Schedule

Ballot removal and processing will occur daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., beginning on Monday, October 27 through Tuesday, November 4, 2025, with processing beginning at 7:00 a.m. on November 4 (if necessary) and continuing until all ballots have been processed.

• All ballots advance processed by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 31, 2025, will be centrally tabulated.
• All other ballots received by 2:00 p.m. on Election Day (Tuesday, November 4, 2025) will be delivered to their respective precinct for processing.
• Ballots received after 2 p.m. on Election Day will be processed after the close of polls at 8 p.m., once the voter lists from each precinct have been received by the Elections Department.

The list of precincts to be processed can be found on the public notice.

Unofficial Results

After polls close at 8:00 p.m., the Election Department will receive and upload unofficial results of ballots counted at polling places as they are returned from each precinct. Poll workers need time to tally election results and transport materials from polling places to City Hall. Uploading of election results may not begin until 10 p.m.

The initial results reported on the website on election night will include:

• Ballots cast in person on election day;
• Early voting and mail-in ballots, including those from precincts being centrally tabulated at the City Hall central tabulation facility.

The unofficial results uploaded to boston.gov/election on election night will NOT include:

• Hand counted ballots recorded in the precinct clerk's book after the close of polls or;
• Mail and absentee ballots that arrive on time on election day, but are too late to be sent to polling locations to be counted. These ballots will be processed after the close of polls at 8:00 p.m., once the voter lists from each precinct have been received by the Elections Department.

The Election Department will not release unofficial results broken down by precinct until 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at the latest.

Media Guidelines

Where To Stand

Members of the press must remain behind the guardrail. While many polling places are not equipped with a physical guardrail, the area within the "guardrail" encompasses the check-in table, the voting booths, and the ballot box. Only poll workers and voters should be within this area.

Interacting With Voters and Poll Workers

Members of the press, like all other observers in the polling place, may not interact with voters while they are in the polling place. Further, observers who have questions about where they should stand and what they are allowed to do while observing should ask to speak to the warden. The warden may provide members of the press with information regarding their rights as observers.

Photography

Photography of the voting process in the polling place is permitted, though marked ballots may not be photographed. Photographers are allowed inside the polling place to photograph the area from outside the guardrail. The warden may instruct the photographer not to take photos of any marked ballots.

Video and Audio Recording

As with photography of the polling place, video recording of the polling place is allowed. Audio recording of the polling place is not permitted under state law. Anyone recording in the polling place must have the ability to record without capturing audio and should be instructed to do so by the warden. Those who are using electronic equipment may not use the electricity in the polling place to power their equipment.

Exit Polling

Exit polling and interviews of voters are permitted outside, within 150 feet of a polling place, as long as it does not interfere with a person or voter on their way to an election. Only voters leaving the polling place may be stopped. Voter access to the polling place should not be impeded in any way.

• Published by: Election