Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Sunday, December 17, 2023
One Franklin’s New Years Resolution - Jan 11, 2024 from 6 to 9 PM
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Franklin Town Clerk Nancy Danello walks us through voting process for the Oct 24 Tri-County Election, then for the Nov 7 Biennial Election (audio)
FM #1074 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1074 in the series.
This session shares my conversation with Town Clerk Nancy Danello conducted in her office at the Municipal Building on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
We talk about
The Tri-County election October 24
The biennial Town of Franklin election Nov 7, includes the debt exclusion to fund the Tri-County building
The show notes include links to the Town Clerk page and to the Tri-County information.
The recording runs about 27 minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1074-franklin-ma-town-clerk-nancy-danello-10-03-23
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Town Clerk’s page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk
Tri-County new building page -> https://www.tri-countybuilding.com/
Tri County School Building Project - Karen Maguire, Tri County Superintendent (presentation to Town Council) https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8a._tri_county_presentation.pdf
Building update meeting in June, 2023 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/06/tri-county-building-project-update.html
Tri-County Election Announcement -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/news/important-news-tri-county-district-wide-election-10242023
Memo from Town Administrator - Tri-County Election if approved: Estimated Cost Per Household -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/imce/u353/8b._1_-_memo_-_tri_county_school_financing.jpg
Tri-County Election Warrant -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/news/tri-county-warrant
Tri-County Sample Ballot -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/news/tri-county_10-24_sample_ballot.pdf
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Town Council asked to approve ballot question to authorize funding for new Tri-County school for the Nov 7 election
"Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to exempt from the provisions ofproposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay theTown’s allocable share of the bonds issued by the Tri-County RegionalVocational Technical School District to pay costs of designing, constructingand equipping a new high school to be located at 147 Pond Street, inFranklin, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?"
Friday, November 11, 2022
Notice Of Post Election Tabulation - Nov 14, 2022 - 9 AM
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
The schedule for a busy Election Day,. Nov 8, 2022
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Town of Franklin: Tabulator Testing shows ballots will be read properly - 10/26/22 (audio)
FM #873 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 873 in the series.
This session shares the Tabulator Testing conducted in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.
Town Clerk Nancy Danello opened the session. Deputy Clerk Dyan Fitzgerald assisted and took over to close the session when Nancy left about 10:30ish for a meeting at the high school to plan for the election setup.
9 or 10 election workers were sworn in to start the process. Other observers arrived as the process was underway. You can hear the welcomes, and overall instructions, and the various question and answer sections.
The full recording was edited to remove the extraneous conversations, noise, etc. The intent of the recording is to share the tabulator testing process as discussed in the open session.
What is the tabulator? The tabulator is what most would refer to as the voting machine that reads the ballot and tallies the vote by precinct.
The outline of the steps as described by our Town Clerk is provided. The Early Opening sessions as mentioned did start on Friday, Oct 28 and complete Friday, Nov 4, 2022. The steps of the early opening process are provided in the show notes.
The Early Deposit session is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 5 at Franklin High School. They intend to process all the early ballots on Saturday. If something prevents that, they do have time scheduled on Sunday, if necessary.
Ballots still arriving via mail, election dropbox at the municipal building, etc. will be gathered sometime late Tuesday (Election Day), and transported to the high school for processing.
All results Tuesday are ‘unofficial”. The Town Clerk has a couple of days to back in the office to check all the totals before making them ‘official’ to submit to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
The show notes include links to the Town Clerk page and other election information.
The edited tabulator testing recording runs about 43 minutes, so let’s listen in.
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Town Clerk’s page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk
Transcript of the audio (except for the intro and closing segments read by me (Steve Sherlock)which are spelled out in the 'show notes' document.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ICGkw21S1u9YOQnitAKsklW6j8A76aM5/view?usp=share_link
Tabulator Testing Process outline -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I525elrG6Vhh_TwidcENERfjoRAEufxf/view?usp=share_link
Early Opening outline -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I6tvfzTROGOl_dFYR5OKi58oCdrNAZBX/view?usp=share_link
Vote by mail process diagram -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/vote_by_mail_process.pdf
Town Clerk podcast episode talking about the overall election process ->
-------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Voices of Franklin: Karen Landers is Yes for Question 1
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Franks Musings: 047 - Ballot Questions (audio)
Frank Presents: 046 - Mark Lenzi on Ballot Question 3 (audio)
Frank Presents: 046 - Mark Lenzi on Ballot Question 3 (audio) |
Sunday, October 30, 2022
The Franklin Voter Guide for 2022 is available
"The Franklin Area Voting Guide is intended to be a non-partisan resource created by private individuals to allow the people of Franklin, Massachusetts, and surrounding communities to cast an educated vote on issues that impact our community.
The Franklin Voter Guide for 2022 is available Information contained in this guide is provided by candidates and taken verbatim from their survey responses, or sourced from candidate websites/social media accounts, public statements, town halls, and past achievements."
SAFE Radio: Ballot Question 3 with Mark Lenzi (audio)
SAFE Radio: Ballot Question 3 with Mark Lenzi (audio) |
The SAFE Coalition exists to provide pathways for support, education, coping mechanisms and treatment options for Substance use Disorder
Monday, October 24, 2022
60 Minutes: "Dominion Voting Systems CEO speaks out against conspiracy theories" (video)
"Can you flip votes in the computer system? Can you add votes that did not exist?" Anderson Cooper asks Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos. "Absolutely not," Poulos says. See the interview, Sunday on 60 Minutes.
- paper ballot based
- the voter registration system is a closed network (not part of Internet)
- highly secure
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Vote by mail ballots are in the mail to Franklin voters
"The Town Clerk's office received mail-in ballots on Tuesday, October 11th! Election workers, wardens along with the Town Clerk's office were hard at work for 1 1/2 days processing resident vote by mail ballot requests. If you requested a mail-in ballot, keep an eye out on your mail as ballots have been sent out!"
Boston Globe: "Liquor store giant Total Wine enters fray on Question 3"
"The mom-and-pop package stores in Massachusetts now can identify an enemy in their Question 3 ballot campaign: retail giant Total Wine & More.Question 3 represents the latest round in a debate that has lasted for years over the limits on how many retail, or “off-premises,” alcohol licenses can be controlled by any one company in this state. It’s a fight that has long pitted small, independent liquor stores against larger retail chains that want the right to sell alcohol more broadly.This ballot question would, among other things, somewhat loosen those caps, by increasing the number of locations under one corporate owner that can sell beer and wine from 9 to 18 over the course of a decade. However, it would also reduce the number of locations with common ownership that can sell hard alcohol from nine to seven."
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Resources for Ballot Question #4 - Nov 8, 2022 Election
Election Collection 2022: State election November 8 |
Monday, October 17, 2022
Resources for Ballot Question #1 - Nov 8, 2022 Election
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Franklin Liquors: Please watch this video on why we need your Yes vote for Ballot Question 3
2022 Massachusetts State Election- Yes on Question 3, Expanded Availability of Alcohol Licenses
Please watch this video and why we need your yes vote!
https://t.co/Nf6rX7RMZ8
Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/Franklinliquors/status/1581434806084153345
#voteyeson3 #vote #ma #liquor #franklinma b
Visit the Election Collection for Nov 2022 for information |
Boston Globe: questions & answers on Ballot Question #1
"Yes on 1!
Great article about MA ballot Q 1.
Answers to your questions about the millionaire's tax https://t.co/BKfZEYFdFy via @BostonGlobe"
JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF |
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Information for Franklin Voters Regarding the Upcoming Election
The State Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 from 6am - 8pm at the Franklin High School Gymnasium. In person early voting will take place October 22nd - November 4th at the Franklin Municipal Building ONLY (355 East Central Street). There will be NO in person early voting at Franklin High School.
The Municipal Building in person early voting dates are as follows…- Saturday, Oct. 22 in person: 9am -3pm
- Monday, Oct. 24 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Tuesday, Oct. 25 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Wednesday, Oct. 26 in person: 8am - 6pm
- Thursday, Oct. 27 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Friday, October 28 in person: 8am - 1pm
- Saturday, Oct. 29 in person: 9am - 5pm *Last day to register to vote*
- Monday, Oct. 31 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Tuesday, Nov. 1 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Wednesday, Nov. 2 in person: 8am - 6pm
- Thursday, Nov. 3 in person: 8am - 4pm
- Friday, Nov. 4 in person: 8am - 1pm
The last day to register to vote is Saturday, October 29th, 2022. You may check or update your information via the State's Online Voter Registration tool: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/OVR/
Ballots arrived at the Town Clerk's office on October 11th, 2022. Our staff is working diligently to ensure all voters that have already requested a mail-in ballot receive them in a timely manner.
Requesting a Mail-In BallotVoters may apply to receive a mail-in ballot by Tuesday, November 1st at 5pm the latest. Voters are encouraged to apply as early as possible for a mail-in ballot, especially if your ballot will need to be mailed out of town. The U.S. Postal Service recommends allowing up to 7 days for mail delivery. To ensure you receive your ballot with enough time to mail it back, you should apply 2-3 weeks before Election Day. Your application can only be accepted if it has reached your local election office by the deadline. You may apply to receive a mail-in ballot online here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleabsentee/absidx.htm
Returning Your BallotOnce you have received and completed your ballot, you may return it by…
- Mailing it back using the envelope provided; or
- Hand-delivering your ballot to the Town Clerk's Office in the Municipal Building during Early Voting hours or during regular business hours on November 7th (8am - 4pm) and before 8pm on November 8th, 2022; or
- Hand-delivering your ballot using our ballot drop box any time before 8pm on November 8th, 2022. Both ballot drop boxes are located at the Franklin Municipal Building.
- 355 East Central Street (To the left of the building)
- 355 East Central Street (Mail slot to left as you enter walkway to main entrance)
Shared from Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/information-franklin-voters-regarding-upcoming-election
Information for Franklin Voters Regarding the Upcoming Nov 8, 2022 Election |