Published July 10, 2020

MELROSE — City election officials will throw themselves into a single polling place public relations campaign if the idea is approved by the City Council. That approval was expected Thursday night, after the Weekly News’ print deadline.

The proposal calls for temporarily consolidating all eight polling places for Melrose’s 14 precincts at the Veterans Memorial Middle School gym for the critical September 1 primary and November 3 general elections. In September, balloters will choose, among others, a Democratic nominee for U.S. senator from Massachusetts. In November, voters will help pick America’s president.

Letting the public know what is happening and how one voting place will work are crucial to high voter participation, especially in the age of a pandemic.

As laid out by City Clerk Amy Kamosa, the first phase of communicating with the public would begin next week with a mailing to all households. The message: Voters have three options to cast their ballot. They can do it absentee by returning the application they receive from the state and subsequently returning their ballot; participating in early voting at Memorial. Hall on August 22 to 28 for the September primary and October 17 to 30 for the November presidential election; or voting on election day at the Veterans Memorial Middle School.

The second phase — notifying residents of the state-mailed absentee ballot application — would run from about July 15 to 20. Efforts would include posting on various web sites instructions and details like remembering to select a party for the primary, and working with the Council on Aging to further communicate about how ballots can be returned to City Hall or through the mail, for example.

The third phase would run from mid-August to election day on September 1. It would include the mailing of ward and precinct-specific postcards mailed to all households with registered voters indicating where their new voting location in the middle school gym would be; a video address from Mayor Paul Brodeur; web postings; newspaper advertisements; a banner across Main Street; a kiosk notification; DPW signage with the relevant information and a presence on social media.

Early voting information would comprise the Augus 18 to 20 fourth phase and would include more media releases, social media postings and coordinating transportation of seniors to the early voting polling place.

There would be similar outreach throughout September and October for the early November presidential election.

The city clerk explained in a recent memo to the City Council reasons for temporarily going to one centralized polling place.

Kamosa wrote, “These changes are being made in an effort to support the health and safety of residents, voters and elections’ staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. For those two elections, all seven voting wards of the city will vote in the MVMMS gymnasium on election day. This election day voting location change will be done in conjunction with the expansion of in-person early voting opportunities for both elections and expanded opportunities for no-excuse mail-in voting options for all registered voters in the city.

“We ask that this request is approved as soon as possible so that extensive communication and education campaigns to all city residents regarding their many voting options can begin.

“Unlike current polling locations, the MVMMS gym provides a separate entrance and parking, enough space to allow for social distancing, and the ability to close off the polling location location from the rest of the school building,” Kamosa continued.

Usually, registered voters cast ballots at the Hoover, Winthrop, Lincoln, Beebe, Horace Mann and Roosevelt schools as well as at City Hall and the Julian Steele House.

Wakefield went to a single polling place at the Galvin Middle School a couple of years ago and the program has been a success. Town Clerk Betsy Sheeran has been one of those who has advised Kamosa on several aspects of the plan.