Town Clerk Nancy Danello provides details on the June 3, 2025 Special Election (audio)

FM #1444 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1444 in the series. 

This session shares my conversation with Town Clerk Nancy Danello about the Special Election for the Fiscal Year 2026 Override coming up Tuesday, June 3, 2025.  We briefly touch on the regular local election scheduled for November. 

Our conversation covers:

• Early in person voting starts May 16 during office hours in Clerk’s Office

• Last day to register to vote is May 24

• Last day for absentee voting at the Office, Monday June 2 at noon.

• Office closed on Tuesday June 3 to run the election at Franklin High School gymnasium

• June 3 hours from 6 AM to 8 PM

• November election for Town Council, School Committee, Planning Board, Board of Assessor, Board of Health, Constables for 2 year terms. The Town Clerk is also up for a 4 year term.

• We’ll cover this election in more detail later this summer

Neither of us will tell you how to vote, we will share information on what you need to know to properly cast an informed vote on or before June 3.

Our conversation recording runs about 24 minutes, so let’s listen in Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1444-town-clerk-june-3-2025-special-election-update-05-05-25/

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Special Election page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/1123/Special-Election-6-3-2025  

Town Clerk page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/333/Town-Clerk-Elections-Division

FY 2026 Override Info page -> https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/1089/Fiscal-Year-2026-Override-Information 

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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!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Town Clerk Nancy Danello provides details on the June 3, 2025 Special Election (audio)

Voting in Franklin, MA

The "storymap" tool has been used by our Franklin Town Clerk Nancy Danello to put together in one place, all the information you need to know on how to register to vote, get vote by mail info, etc.

Follow the link here to get to the storymap, or from the Town Clerk's page scroll down to find this image and click to follow

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a918db0bdde342c6bad06bde09a3862a

Voting in Franklin, MA

Ballots for November 5th Election are in the mail to Franklin, MA voters

Ballots for November 5th Election

A message from the Town Clerk:

Ballots for November 5th Election 

Ballots for the Presidential Election(11/5) HAVE arrived!! They have all been packaged up and are in the process of being mailed out.

Precincts 3,5,6,8 and 9 were mailed out Wednesday, 10/2/24.  Precincts 1,2,4 and 7 will be out by the end of the week.  

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/ballots-november-5th-election

Franklin (MA) Town Clerk Nancy Danello provides a Special Election Update (06/05/24) (audio)

FM #1231 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1231 in the series. 

This session shares the Special Election update provided by Town Clerk Nancy Danello to the Franklin (MA) Town Council Meeting on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. She covers the current status (3800+ ballots received) and how the early and absentee votes will be processed on Election Day, June 11, 2024. 

Quick summary:

* Daily process for early and absentee votes

Entry into State voting record system for individual as received

Count of ballots received by precinct, ballots remain unopened, are sealed and locked in vault

* Election day process for early and absentee votes

Ballots transported by Franklin police from Town Clerk vault to FHS

Entry into State voting record system for individual as voted

Ballots opened by precinct and processed into the tabulator (voting machine) assisted by Franklin Police

If you have questions on the election process, please reach out to Nancy. Don't ask folks on 'social media'. She will provide the correct answer.

The special election update takes about 7 minutes, so let’s listen to Town Clerk Nancy Danello. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1231-franklin-town-clerk-special-election-update-06-05-24

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The Franklin TV broadcast 06/05/24  ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps1PnsDuPwE 

Agenda and supporting documents -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/june_5_2024_town_council_meeting_agenda.pdf 

My notes for this meeting  captured via Twitter can be found in one PDF file -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/190oyby8h5rC5ivDqN4lKAOV5PBP2UCM4/view?usp=drive_link 

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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!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Franklin (MA) Town Clerk Nancy Danello provides a Special Election Update (06/05/24) (audio)

Franklin Town Clerk provides Important Information for Special Election, June 11, 2024

May 3, 2024

From the Office of the Town Clerk, Nancy Danello, CMC

Re: Important information regarding the Special Election, June 11, 2024

With the formal approval of our Town Council members by Resolution 24- 21 for the purpose of a Special Election to be held on June 11, 2024 at the Franklin High School from 6 AM to 8 PM.

The question reads:

Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional 6.8 million dollars in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of the operating budget for which monies from this assessment will be used for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024?

"The above question will be the only question on the ballot, it is a Yes or No question."

Immediately after receiving ballots, the Town Clerk's Office will be hosting in-person early voting during normal business hours which are Mon., Tues., Thurs. from 8 AM to 4 PM, Wednesday, 8 AM to 6 PM and Friday from 8 AM to 1 PM. 

There will also be one (1) weekend day which is scheduled for Saturday, June 1st from 9 AM to 4 PM in the Clerk's Office Only.

For Voters who have requested a vote by mail ballot for the State Election (11/5) by completing the card sent by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, you will also be receiving a ballot for this Special Election. We have a total of 5,000 requests so far. 

If you are unsure that your request was received please contact my office at 508-520-4900 or townclerk@franklinma.gov and we will be happy to assist you. If you would like to receive a Vote-by-Mail application please contact my office or click on the following link: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/languages/vote-by-maiI-applications.htm

Dates of Importance:

• Early Voting will commence as soon as the ballots arrive (I will notify the Voters once they are received) 
• Tabulator Testing: May 29th at 10:00 AM in Council Chambers
• Last Day to Register to vote: June 1 from 9 AM to 5 PM at the Town Clerk's Office or online at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/OVR/
• Special Election June 11, 2024 from 6 AM to 8 PM @ FHS -  All mail in ballots must be received in the Clerk's Office by 8:00 PM in order to be counted.

Download a PDF of this info as reference or to share ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hHY6WNYveV8CwmiFsUBNqoV5UrWWDHJ6/view?usp=drive_link

For the record, the ballot question for the roads dedicated override in 2014 was worded as:

"Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $1,500,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding a stabilization fund as provided in GL Chapter 40 Section 5 B, said funds to be expended solely for roadway, and related drainage work for the fiscal year beginning July first, two thousand and sixteen?"

The only successful override to date was on May 2007 and the wording was as follows: 

"Shall the Town of Franklin be allowed to assess an additional $2,700,000.00 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of the operating budget which monies from this assessment will be used for the fiscal year beginning July 1, two thousand and seven?"

The text of all the override or debt exclusion votes can be found in one spreadsheet thanks to the info provided by our Town Clerk

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdDVWaFU0N2ZsTEE2TUVuWHk5NURvQWc#gid=0

Town Clerk Nancy Danello looks at the year ahead; local census, dog registrations, possible Tri-County vote & local election in Nov (audio)

FM #950 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 950 in the series. 

This session shares my conversation with Town Clerk Nancy Danello conducted in her office at the Municipal Building on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. 

We talk about the annual census, dog registrations due by April 1, and the election calendar for 2023 including the possible Tri-County school building special election.

The show notes include links to the Town Clerk page and to the Tri-County information.

The recording runs about 20 minutes, so let’s listen in.

Audio link ->  https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-950-franklin-ma-town-clerk-nancy-danello-02-14-23

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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

Passport processing (by appointment) https://www.franklinma.gov/passport/pages/passport-acceptance-facility-office

-------------

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"

Town Clerk Nancy Danello looks at the year ahead; local census, dog registrations, possible Tri-County vote & local election in Nov (audio)

The schedule for a busy Election Day,. Nov 8, 2022

Voting opens at 6 AM at Franklin High School. 

The School Committee has a budget workshop scheduled for 6 PM in the 3rd Floor Training Room. I plan on being there to report/record the meeting.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/franklin-ma-franklin-school-committee.html

The School Committee has their organizational meeting and a full agenda scheduled for 7 PM. I will miss the meeting. Franklin TV will record and broadcast via cable, live stream and YouTube.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-for.html

I'll be at the high school to report on and record the announcement of "unofficial results" when they are available from Town Clerk Nancy Danello after the polls close at 8 PM. (My unofficial "guestimate" ~ 9-9:30 PM at the earliest)

The Election Collection - all the info we have gathered on the local candidates and ballot questions ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/10/election-collection-2022-state-election.html

The map of the 9 precincts for Franklin

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2022_precinct_map.pdf

Other information can be found on the Town Clerk's page

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk

Voting in Franklin on Nov 8, 2022

You are welcome to observe multiple sessions of the advance removal and deposit of vote by mail ballots for the Nov 8 election

Franklin's Town Clerk Nancy Danello posted the notice of "Notice Of Advanced Removal Of Early Voted Ballots From Envelopes And Advanced Depositing Of Early Voted Ballots" on Oct 13, 2022 announcing multiple sessions to process the State election early returns. While the notification contains some legal terms as required by MA General Law, the notification in "kitchen English" outlines the following.

As there are over 6,000 vote by mail and absentee ballots sent out (and more being requested), to ensure a timely and accurate count on Tuesday, Nov 8, the state outlined a process to enable a secure two-step process of these ballots in advance of election day.

Step 1 - Advanced Removal Of Early Voted Ballots From Envelopes

The vote by mail ballots are returned via mail or directly to the Municipal building drop boxes. The outer white envelope is scanned to acknowledge receipt for tracking by the State system. 

For example, my ballot was dropped into the box at the Town Clerk's window on Tuesday as I went into the School Committee meeting. The ballot tracking shows it was acknowledged as "accepted" on 10/26/22. I dropped it off after their working hours, and they processed it during their next business day. (photo below)

The advance removal session will allow us to watch the brown envelope with the ballot be opened, the ballot itself put in a pile, and the voter system updated to show the voter has proved a ballot. Two people perform this process for each precinct.

There is no actual counting of the votes on the ballot. The ballots are simply piled by precinct for feeding into the voting machines at the next session.

The votes by precinct are stored in ballot boxes and secured in the vault. The security of the process is open to observation by Franklin residents.

There are six sessions scheduled for this advanced opening process:

• Friday, October 28 - 9:00 AM

• Monday, October 31 - 9:00 AM

• Tuesday, November 1 - 9:00 AM

• Wednesday, November 2 - 9:00 AM

• Thursday, November 3 - 9:00 AM

• Friday, November 4 - 9:00 AM

Step 2 - Advanced Depositing Of Early Voted Ballots

On Saturday, Nov 5, the advance processed ballots will be moved by Franklin police detail from the Municipal building vault to Franklin High School where they will be processed in the second step. If the processing is not completed on Saturday, it can be continued on Sunday, Nov 6.

The ballots as opened and processed in Step 1 will be securely transferred from the vault to Franklin High School by a Franklin Police detail.

Each set of ballots separated by precinct will be feed into the voting machines. The voting machine overall tally will be noted but the tape to 'count the votes' will not be run. The second set of memory cards for each machine will be installed and the machines will be ready for processing on election day.

At the end of the session, the memory cards for this deposited process, along with the ballots, will be securely transferred from the High School back to the Municipal building vault by a Franklin Police detail.

Election day

Normal in person voting will take place beginning at 6 AM and complete at 8 PM. The precinct voting totals will be tallied and the machines tapes (with the vote totals for each election position or ballot question) will be manually entered into the election spreadsheet.

The memory cards from the Advance Depositing action on Saturday will be placed into each precinct machine so their totals can be run on the tape. That tape will also be entered into the spreadsheet to help complete the unofficial results. 

There are other steps required by the Town Clerk to create the 'official' results, including cross checking all the totals of votes by precinct. She has three days to complete the process and send the results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth to be part of the State certification process. 

In summary, all ballots are paper, counted and tallied in an observed and secure process to guarantee a fair result. The paper ballots can be audited or recounted as required to ensure the results are what they are.

The Advance Notice document (PDF format)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Y1239lXnCDqRnTiSVYCmGthnMEgd5f0/view?usp=sharing

The link to the Town Clerk page where it was posted Oct 13, 2022

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/news/notice-advanced-removal-and-deposit-ballots

Town Clerk link (directly opens up a Word doc)

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/notice_of_advanced_removal-deposit_11-8.docx

My vote by mail ballot status

You can check your vote by mail status at this link

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/TrackMyBallot/

You are welcome to observe multiple sessions of the advance removal and deposit of vote by mail ballots for the Nov 8 election

Tabulator testing completed Wednesday, demonstrating the voting machines count what they should

"Wednesday morning, the Council Chambers at the municipal building became the scene of a mock election, as batches of ballots, marked up randomly, and in some cases very incorrectly, by a third party,  some with too many selections or markings out of the proper area, others no longer exactly flat.

The nine machines, one for each precinct, were put through their paces with the sample ballots by a crew of election workers and election wardens, all  under the eye of Town Clerk Nancy Danello and Assistant Town Clerk Dyan Fitzgerald. Also present was the Observer, Steve Sherlock from Franklin Matters (who recorded audio of the whole process) and a few members of the public."

Continue reading the Observer's recap ->

https://franklinobserver.town.news/g/franklin-town-ma/n/128573/ballot-machines-tested-muni-building-wednesday

 

As noted, I am processing the audio of the testing session. Our Town Clerk Nancy Danello was happy to wear a microphone for the event so her outline of the process as well as many of the questions asked of her were captured and will be shared as soon as possible.

demonstrating the voting machines count what they should

Tabulator/voting machine testing - October 26 at 9 AM

Our Town Clerk Nancy Danello has scheduled the tabulator/voting machine testing for Wednesday, Oct 26 at 9 AM in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Building.

Observers welcome!

• See for yourself how voting is paper ballot based
• See how the machines have no connection to the internet

This is an opportunity to ask about how the vote is tabulated by the machine, cross checked manually, and then tallied in a spreadsheet to produce the 'unofficial results'. The Town Clerk then has time in the office to validate the checks, etc. to confirm and produce the 'official results'.

The testing was completed prior to the September primary and reported on previously: https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/08/town-clerks-office-completes-testing-of.html

Town Clerk notification of testing -> https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/news/tabulatorballot-testing-october-26th-see-attached

All of our tabulators have been tested for accuracy & have been confirmed as ready for voters (Town of Franklin photo)