Election Roundup: Preliminary Election + Early Voting

Happy September! You know what that means, right? Back to school season, pumpkin spice everything and in 2021, the Boston Preliminary Election! This election, which is being called historic because none of the major candidates for Mayor are white men, is being held on September 14th.

But for the first time in a preliminary municipal election, Boston will have EARLY voting. In Southie you can vote on September 4th and 5th at the Condon School in the Cityside Neighborhood, from 11am to 7 pm and on Thursday September 9th at District Hall, in Southie’s Seaport Neighborhood, from noon until 8pm. Anyone can vote at these locations as long as they are registered to vote.

In Dorchester, there is also Early voting on September 4th and 5th, from 11 – 7pm at the Murphy School and at the Thelma Burns Building and on Thursday September 9th at the Kroc Center from noon to 8 pm. You can also vote early at Boston’s City Hall from September 7th through the 10th, starting at 9am each day.

Check out the Early Voting Schedule below:

If you are NOT registered to vote yet, unfortunately it is too late for you to vote in the Preliminary Election but you have plenty of time to register to vote before the election on November 2nd (you have until October 13th to register!). To register to vote, please visit here! 

What are we voting for on the 14th? We are voting to narrow down the field of candidates; think of the 14th as being like a Presidential Primary, there are a lot of good candidates but you need to pick your top choice. For mayor you are going to select ONE candidate. For City Council at Large, you can select UP TO FOUR candidates, because there are 4 positions on the Council that you are filling, and you will be voting for District 2 City Councilor – incumbent Ed Flynn is running unopposed.

We are narrowing down the field in this Preliminary Election which means what we, as a city, are actually doing is choosing the TWO mayoral candidates that will be on the ballot in November,  the EIGHT City Council at Large candidates that will be on November’s ballot and the up to two District Council candidates (depending on where you live) on your ballot. Easy right? Or maybe not with so many interesting candidates.

Be prepared to vote for your top choice for mayor and your top FOUR choices for City Council at Large. There are more forums and debates coming up to help you decide on which mayoral candidate best represents your vision and goals for Boston:

On September 8th, the Dorchester Reporter & the Bay State Banner are partnering with NBC10 Boston and its affiliates for a televised mayoral debate at 7pm. It’ll be shown on NBC10 and New England Cable News (NECN) and Telemundo’s website.

On September 9th, WBUR, the Boston Globe, UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies and WCVB will host a special live debate between the candidates for Mayor of Boston. Which you can listen to at 7 pm on 90.9 FM

Good luck to all of the candidates and good luck to you, the voters of Boston. You are going to help decide on the future of our great city. Vote smart, vote well, and make your voice heard!

* If you don’t know what City Council district you live in, it’s easy to find out. Just visit here: and type in your address!