Worcester 2021 Preliminary Voting Guide: What To Know

Worcester MA

08 September, 2021

9:16 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — Many Worcester voters will go to the polls on Sept. 14 to narrow the field of candidates running for City Council seats in District 1 and District 5. Worcester Patch has put together a preliminary election guide covering everything from candidate profiles to information about where and when to vote. Who's running In the District 1 City Council race, incumbent Councilor Sean Rose is facing a challenge from David Shea Jr. and Worcester police Sgt. Richard Cipro. Rose is the only incumbent competing in the 2021 preliminary, although District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson will face off against challenger Johanna Hampton-Dance in the November general election. The District 5 race is wide open with four candidates. Incumbent Matthew Wally is aiming for an At-Large Council seat in 2021. He'll face off against 10 other candidates, including incumbents Khrystian King, Mayor Joseph Petty, Donna Colorio, Kate Toomey and Morris Bergman. After the primary, the District 1 and 5 races will be whittled down to two candidates each. Candidate profiles Beginning in July, Patch asked each of the seven candidates running in the District 1 and District 5 to answer candidate questionnaires. Four candidates responded, and three others did not, including incumbent Rose. You can read each profile below in order of how the candidates will appear on the ballot. District 1 Richard CiproDavid Shea Jr. — Did not respond(i) Sean Rose — Did not respond District 5 Yenni DesrochesStephen QuistGregory Stratman — Did not respondEtel HaxhiajThere will also be one final candidate forum before Election Day. MassLive will host the D5 forum beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mill Street IBEW hall and also streaming live online. Voting Voting will be confined to just residents in Districts 1 and 5. Residents will have the option of voting early, voting in-person on Sept. 14 or mailing (or dropping off) ballots. In-person voting If you want to head to the polls on Sept. 14, you can find your polling place on the Worcester City Clerk website. Early voting Early voting began on Sept. 7 and will continue until Friday. A new early voting location will be available each day this week, and you can see them all here. Mail-in voting Worcester will offer mail-in voting for the preliminary this year for those who don't want to risk going to the polls in-person. However, voters must request absentee voting ballots four business days before Election Day — in other words, by the end of the day on Thursday. You can apply for an absentee ballot here. Worcester will have an array of ballot drop boxes, including two at City Hall and at 10 fire stations across the city. See all the locations here. Election results Worcester 2021 preliminary election results will be available beginning Tuesday night after polls close. Worcester Patch will post them as soon as they are available. Sign up for email alerts here or like us on Facebook for the latest on local elections.