The Boston Election Department is reminding voters that Election Day (Preliminary) is Tuesday, September 9th, 2025 – polls are open between 7am-8pm.  You’ll be voting for Mayor of Boston, City Council at Large and District City Councilors.

Ballot Return

Voters who planned to return their ballots by U.S. Mail and have not mailed their ballots within one week of Election Day are encouraged to return their ballots through other means, to ensure they will be counted. Ballot packages must be received by the Boston Election Department no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

• Voters may return their ballots until 8 p.m. on Election Day to any of the 22 drop boxes across the City or in person at the Election Department in City Hall.
• Ballots cannot be returned to a polling location on Election Day.

Voters can track their ballot through the state’s website. If there is no movement indicated in the “Track My Ballot” system, voters should plan to vote in person on Election Day at their assigned precinct. Check your polling location and status.

Accessible Voting

The Accessible Electronic Voting System allows voters who are unable to independently read, write, hold, or physically manipulate or mark ballots to submit their ballot via a secure electronic delivery system. Voters who qualify for an Accessible Electronic Ballot may apply online. The deadline to apply for an accessible ballot is Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 5 p.m. To get access to the electronic ballot, you will need to provide your email address.

Voting On Election Day

Polling locations open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. A list of polling locations can be found online. As a reminder, voters should check their registration status via the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website. Printed ballots will be available in English and Spanish, English and Chinese, and English and Vietnamese. Language interpreters will also be available upon request. All voting locations are wheelchair accessible and are equipped with an AutoMark Voter Assist Terminal for voters with disabilities to assist with marking the ballot independently.

Poll Pads Electronic Check-in

The Boston Election Department is expanding the use of Poll Pads electronic check-in devices across all 275 precincts for voter check-in on Election Day. This upgrade will speed up the check-in process and enhance communication with the Election Department.

While Poll Pads are new to Election Day, they have been used successfully during Early Voting since 2016. The voting process for voters remains the same: you will check in with a poll worker, receive a paper ballot, mark your vote, and cast it as usual.

Central Tabulation

On Monday, September 1, 2025, the City of Boston will begin removing Preliminary Municipal Election mail-in and in-person early voted ballots for all 275 precincts from their envelopes and depositing these ballots into a tabulator in Boston City Hall located at One City Hall Square, Room 801, Boston, MA 02201.

Only ballots received prior to Friday, September 5, 2025, will be removed and deposited in Room 801.

Advance Processing Schedule

Ballot removal and processing will occur daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning on Monday, September 1, through Tuesday, September 9, 2025, with processing beginning at 7 a.m. on September 9 (if necessary) and continuing until all ballots have been processed.

• All ballots advance processed by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 5, 2025, will be centrally tabulated.
• All other ballots received by 2 p.m. on Election Day (Tuesday, September 9, 2025) will be delivered to their respective precinct for processing.
• Ballots received after 2 p.m. on Election Day will be processed after the close of polls at 8 p.m., once the voter lists from each precinct have been received by the Elections Department.

Unofficial Results

After polls close at 8 p.m., the Election Department will receive and upload unofficial results of ballots counted at polling places as they are returned from each precinct. Poll workers need time to tally election results and transport materials from polling places to City Hall. Uploading of election results may not begin until after 10 p.m.

The initial results reported on the website on election night will include:

• Ballots cast in person on Election Day
• Early voting and mail-in ballots, including those from precincts being centrally tabulated at the City Hall central tabulation facility.

The unofficial results uploaded to Boston.gov on election night will NOT include mail and absentee ballots that arrive on time on Election Day, but are too late to be sent to polling locations to be counted. These ballots will be processed after the close of polls at 8 p.m., once the voter lists from each precinct have been received by the Elections Department.