Government

See How Watertown Voted for President, Senate & on Ballot Questions in 2024

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Charlie Breitrose

Watertown voters came out to vote in large numbers, both on election day and during the early voting and mail-in period. Two-thirds of Watertown’s 26,418 voters cast their ballots in the 2024 State Election, according to the unofficial Watertown Election results sent out by the Watertown City Clerk’s Office. Nearly 60 percent of the 17,542 votes in the election were cast during the early voting period or sent in mail-in ballots, said City Clerk Noelle Gilligan. About 200 to 300 people voted each of the day during the 14 day early voting period. A total of 3,250 residents came to City Hall to vote during the early voting period, Gilligan said, while 7,203 mail-in ballots were sent in.

2020 Election

See How Watertown Voted for President, Senate and Ballot Questions

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Watertown voters came out in huge numbers for the 2020 Presidential Election, and heavily supported Joe Biden and other Democrats on the ballot. The voter turnout for the Nov. 3 election in Watertown was 76.09 percent, or 19,197 ballots cast. This was slightly higher than the 2016 election when 18,402 votes were cast, or 75.89, in an election which also featured the local ballot question on the Community Preservation Act. The Biden/Harris ticket got 14,885 votes locally (77.5 percent), while Donald Trump and Mike Pence received 3,795 votes (19.7 percent).

Ballot Questions

2020 VOTER GUIDE: New Polling Places; Contested Races & Ballot Questions

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The vote to decide the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election will be Nov. 3, but there are a number of other races in which Watertown residents can cast their vote, as well as up to four ballot questions. Also, three precincts will not be in their normal location. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Watertown. The Presidential race tops the ballot, but there are also races for U.S. Senate and Congress along with the ballot questions.

Elections

Watertown Voter Guide: The CPA, Presidential Race & State Ballot Questions

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After months of campaigning, the 2016 Presidential election is nearly here, plus Watertown voters have state and local ballot questions to consider on Tuesday, Nov. 8. 

Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, and remain open until 8 p.m. Then the ballots are taken to Town Hall and precinct results could come as early as 8:30 p.m., but in the past the last precincts have not been finalized until around 10 p.m.

On election night, go to Watertownmanews.com for full results, and follow the results as the come in on the Watertown News Twitter page – https://twitter.com/WatertownMANews

See your ballot and voting location by clicking here and filling out the form. Candidates
On the top of the ballot is the candidates for president. Along with the two major party candidates – Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump – are Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein. There are five other offices up for election this year in town, but little has been heard about these races because they are uncontested.

Elections

LETTER: Watertown Resident Helped Question 1 Succeed

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To the Editor,

On November 4th the voters of Massachusetts said no to “Taxation Without Representation” by voting Yes on Question 1. We repealed the legislation that raised the gasoline tax atomically every year without any further debate or vote of the legislature. In so doing the Commonwealth’s voters restored representative democracy, in it’s birthplace and cradle. The vast majority of credit for this effort belongs to Watertown’s own Steve Aylward. He conceived this ballot initiative.

Elections

Find Out How Faire on the Square Goers Voted on the State Ballot Questions

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The Watertown Democratic Town Committee ran a straw poll at Saturday’s Faire on the Square to see people’s opinion on the four state ballot questions. The majority of respondents also supported the repeal of the Massachusetts Gaming Act and opposed the repeal of the state’s gas tax, said Steve Owen, chairman of the Watertown Democratic Town Committee. Participants were asked to vote “yes” or “no” on the four questions which will appear on this November’s ballot. Of 165 Faire-goers who participated, 69 percent indicated they would vote “No” on Question 1, which would repeal the state’s recently enacted gas tax.  Respondents overwhelmingly supported Question 2, the expanded bottle bill, with 77 percent voting “Yes” to a measure that would add a 5 cent deposit to water and juice containers.  Question 3, which would repeal the state’s 2011 Gaming Act, was supported by 66 percent of those polled. Question 4, which would guarantee earned sick time for all Massachusetts workers, was supported by a record 92 percent of respondents, according to the WDTC’s press release. “This is the sixth year we’ve done a straw poll at the Faire on the Square,” Owens said, “and we’ve never before had anything poll as high as the earned sick time ballot question.”

The poll is not a scientific one, but Owens said the winners of the Committee’s straw poll have gone on to win in Watertown four out of the previous five years.