Westford Election 2021: Last Day To Register To Vote

WESTFORD, MA — The last day to register to vote in the local election, which will have two contested town wide races, is April 14.

If you are not registered to vote in Westford and wish to vote in the May 4, Annual Town Election, you must register to vote by Wednesday.

In addition to races for an open seat on the Select Board and three open seats for School Committee there is a ballot question about a senior property tax exemption for the town to weigh in on.

How to check if you're registered:

You can check your voter registration status, by visiting https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/.

Want to vote by mail?

If you are a registered voter and wish to vote by mail, you must fill out the 2021 early ballot application and return it to the Clerk's Office by Wednesday, April 28. The application can be downloaded here: https://www.westfordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8979/Early-Voting-Application

Even if you filled out an application and voted by mail in 2020, you still must fill out an application to vote by mail in this election.

Who is running?

Select Board (1 seat, for 3 years)

• Eric Barber-Mingo,
• John Cuningham

School Committee (3 seats, for 3 years)

• Avery Rockwell Adam,
• Christopher Sanders
• Mingquan Zheng,
• Kathryn Clear
• Meghan O'Connell
• Steven Wilkins

Uncontested races:

• Board of Health: Joanne Belanger
• Library Trustees: Marianne Fleckner, Alisha Hilman,
• Housing Authority: Carol Engel,
• Planning Board: Katherine Hollister

Ballot Question:

Shall this town accept the provisions of sections one through ten of Chapter Three Hundred and Fourteen of the Acts of 2020, a fair and concise summary of which appears below?

SUMMARY:
The General Court recently enacted Chapter 314 of the Acts of 2020 (the “Act”) authorizing the Town of Westford to establish a senior property tax exemption, which will become effective if its provisions are accepted by a majority of the voters at a town election. The Act provides that an owner of a qualifying parcel of residential real property may apply to the Board of Assessors for a senior property tax exemption, which will be equal to the tax that would otherwise be assessed, less the sum of: 1) 10% of the taxpayer’s income; 2) the circuit breaker income tax credit; and 3) any other statutory exemptions received in the application year. In no event will property taxes be reduced by more than 50%, and no exemption can be granted until the Department of Revenue certifies a residential tax rate for that year.
The Board of Assessors will establish the application deadline and adopt an application form, which must be filled out on an annual basis with supporting documentation of the applicant’s income and assets. Individuals will qualify for the exemption if: 1) the property is owned and occupied by a person whose annual income did not exceed the limit, the calculation for which is set forth in the Act; 2) the property is owned by an applicant age 65+, or jointly by persons either of whom is age 65+, if the other joint applicant is age 60+; 3) the property is owned and occupied by the applicant(s) as their primary residence; 4) the applicant(s) have lived in Westford for at least 10 years; and 5) the maximum assessed value of the property does not exceed an averaged amount for a single family residence in Town. The Assessors may deny an application if the individual has more than 200% in assets allowed under G.L. c. 59, § 5 that places them outside of the intended recipients of the exemption.
The senior property tax exemption shall be in addition to any other exemption allowed by law, except that there is a cap on all exemptions granted equal to 0.25% of the residential property tax levy for the town. In the event that benefits are capped, they shall be allocated by raising the income percentage of eligible applicants as necessary to not exceed the cap