All city halls will have extended hours on Wednesday as required by Massachusetts law.
A poll worker prepares voting booths in a past election.As the deadline to register to vote for the November presidential election looms, residents who have never voted are signing up, long-time voters are checking their status and even those who are not turned 18 yet are signing up to cast ballots.
The last day people can register to vote is Wednesday and all city halls must be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., by state law, to give residents a last-minute chance to sign up to vote.
“We have been busy all week and I think Wednesday will be even busier,” said Gladys Oyola, Springfield's election commissioner.
For the Sept. 6 primary 90,424 people registered to vote in Springfield. Now there are well over 91,000 voters and the total is growing, she said.
People can register to vote in person at City Hall, through the Department of Motor Vehicles, or by filling out and mailing a form. Through the three methods, Springfield is receiving more than 500 requests weekly for new registrations or change-of-address registrations, Oyola said.
Oyola encouraged people to check on their voting status before the deadline passes.
“It is a good thing for us. We don’t want to leave anyone out on Nov. 6,” she said.
While the Secretary of State’s office will not tally totals of new registrations until the deadline passes, spokesman Brian McNiff confirmed what elections officials are saying: Many people want to vote Nov. 6.
“This is a presidential election year and it historically draws a large voter turnout and we have a good senate fight going as well as a number of questions on the ballot,” he said.
In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Elizabeth Warren is challenging Republican incumbent Scott Brown. There are a number of ballot questions including ones asking voters if they want to legalize medical marijuana and allow physician-assisted suicide.
The law requiring extended hours for registration on Wednesday grants exemptions for towns where the number of registered voters is fewer than 1,500. There, town offices must be open from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 8 p.m., McNiff said.
Leverett, which now has 1,475 voters registered, will follow those requirements and a few new voters are expected to show up on the deadline, said Lisa Stratford, Leverett town clerk.
“Since September it has been fairly fast and furious,” Stratford said.
The number of registered voters has probably swelled by 100, she said, which is typical for a presidential race.
Westfield, which had 23,506 registered voters for the Sept. 6 primary, is now approaching 24,000, City Clerk Karen M. Fanion said.
Westfield has also received more than 800 requests for absentee ballots for Nov. 6, which is usual for a presidential election, she said.
Chicopee is seeing a bigger increase. Since the primary, 902 residents registered to vote and another 1,172 changed address or party affiliation. As of Monday there were 680 requests for absentee ballots.
There is no deadline to request absentee ballots, but they must be received before polls close on Nov. 6.
“It is the busiest one I’ve ever seen in my 24 years here. There is the presidential election and the ballot questions are generating a lot of interest,” said Janina Surdyka, registrar of voters.
Chicopee has been holding special drives, and Tuesday Surdyka said she will be at the Boys and Girls Club on Meadow Street between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. to register voters.
East Longmeadow has also run special registration drives, including one that was held in East Longmeadow High School recently, said Town Clerk Thomas Florence.
Anyone who turns 18 on or before Nov. 6 is eligible to vote and can register even if they are still 17 on Wednesday’s deadline, he said.
“We had someone in the high school whose birthday in Nov. 1, which is great with us,” Florence said.
While East Longmeadow isn’t getting flooded, he said there have been some new registrations. Others have been checking their party affiliations in the last few days especially after many change-of-party requests before the primary triggered an investigation by the Secretary of State’s office and the Hampden District Attorney, he said.
The investigation discovered a number of fraudulent absentee ballots had also been submitted. No one has been charged in the case.
In Agawam, there has not been a crush of residents coming in to register vote either, and Town Clerk Richard M. Theroux said he does not expect a last minute rush.
Still, his office will be open until 9 p.m. Wednesday, one hour longer than required.
In Northampton, the Register of Voters’ office has seen a significant spike in registrations, although officials could not provide exact figures.
With the presidential and senate race likely drawing crowds at the polls, and a ballot question about Northampton’s charter, City Clerk Wendy A. Mazza predicted a 70 percent voter turnout.
Holyoke is experiencing a similar spike with as many as 50 new registrations a day coming through the mail and being done in person, said Noelia Colon, senior elections clerk.
“They come out of the woods just to vote for president. We have a lot of first-time voters and a lot of inactive people who we haven’t heard from for two or three years,” Colon said.
Staff writers Sandra Constantine, Fred Contrada and Ted Laborde contributed to this report.