Town of Wellesley updates:

Nomination Papers for March 1, 2022 town-wide election

The deadline to obtain nomination papers for Town Wide office is Friday, January 7, 2022, at 5pm. Signatures of fifty voters registered in the Town are required (any precinct). Papers must be returned to the Town Clerk for certification no later than Tuesday January 11, 2022, at 5pm.

The deadline to obtain nomination papers for Town Meeting Member is Friday, January 21, 2022, at 5 p.m. Ten signatures of registered voters from the precinct are required. The nomination papers must be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office for certification no later than Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at 5pm.

Offices for the March 1, 2022 Town Election are:

Call the Town Clerk’s office for additional information (781-431-1019 ext 2252).

Update on voting by mail

At this time, Vote by Mail (no excuses) is no longer available.

Absentee ballots continue to be available.  To qualify for an absentee ballot, you must:

• Be away from Wellesley on Election Day; or
• Have a disability that keeps you from voting at your polling place; or
• Have a religious belief that prevents you from voting at your polling place on Election day; or
• Are taking precautions relating to COVID-19 considered to be a physical disability.

Annual Town Census

All residential addresses should have received the 2022 Annual Town Census.  All households are required to return the census document as soon as possible, even if no changes are necessary.

Dog licensing

The Town Clerk’s office is reminding pet owners to renew annual dog licenses.

Renew your dog license through the online Viewpoint Cloud system. You will receive an email with a direct link from [email protected]

Paper renewal applications may be returned to Town Hall by mail or dropped off in the Town Hall payments drop box off (on the Washington Street side). Please include a self addressed stamped envelope.

Due to COVID-19, there are no walk-in dog license registrations. Licenses must be renewed annually from January 1st though March 31st to avoid a fine. Each dog requires a separate application. Contact the Town Clerk’s office with questions.

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Wellesley’s Annual Town Election will take place on March 2, 2021. Here is The Swellesley Report’s guide on all you need to know about casting your vote.

Ways to cast your vote in Wellesley

Vote by mail: Completed mail-in ballots may be sent via USPS to the Town Clerk’s Office or brought to the drop box outside of Town Hall. Completed mail-in ballots must be received by the Town Clerk no later than Tuesday, March 2, 2021 by 8pm.

Note: applications to vote by mail are no longer being accepted (the last day to get an app to the Town Clerk was Feb. 24).

Vote in person at the polls:

• Precincts A (Bates), B (Sprague) and C (Upham) vote at the Municipal Light Plant at 4 Municipal Way.
• Precincts D (Schofield) and E (Fiske) vote at the Warren Building at 90 Washington Street.
• Precinct F (Dana Hall) votes at the Wellesley Village Congregational Church at 2 Central Street.
• Precinct G votes at the Wellesley Free Library at 530 Washington Street.
•  Precinct H votes at the Tolles Parsons Center – Council on Aging at 500 Washington Street. Polling Locations Map

The polls will be open 7am – 8pm.

Don’t know which precinct you’re in? Here’s how to find out where to vote in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Wellesley Town Election candidates:

Contested races (names are listed in the order on which they appear on the ballot):

• Select Board (3 candidates, 2 openings—Colette Aufranc; Odessa Sanchez; Ann-Mara Lanza)
• Housing Authority 5-year seat (3 candidates, 2 openings—Micah O’Neil; Janice Coduri; Odessa Sanchez)
• Board of Public Works (2 candidates, 1 opening—Scott Bender; John Bubeck)

Uncontested races:

• Moderator (1 opening—Mark Kaplan)
• Board of Assessors (1 opening—W. Arthur Garrity, III)
• Board of Health (1 opening—Marcia Testa Simonson)
• Trustees of the Wellesley Free Library (2 openings—Diane Savage; Maura Murphy)
• Natural Resources Commission (2 openings—Laura Robert-Fragasso; Beatrice Bezmalinovic Dhebar)
• Planning Board (1 opening—Kathleen Elizabeth Woodward)
• Housing Authority, 1-year term (1 opening—Renee Spencer)
• Recreation Commission, 3-year term (2 openings—Paul Cramer; Mark Wolfson)
• Recreation Commission, 1-year term (1 opening—Anthony Munchak, Jr.)
• School Committee (2 openings—Linda Chow; Leda Murcia Eizenberg)
• Town Clerk (1 opening—KC Kato)

Non-binding referendum question:

Question #1: “Should the Select Board, with the understanding that since 1977 Indigenous people of our country have requested Indigenous Peoples Day as a recognition of their humanity, culture, and history and further, that our country was built on Native lands, proclaim the second Monday of October henceforth be commemorated as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and cease to recognize Columbus Day in Wellesley in recognition of the position of Indigenous Peoples as natives to these lands, and the suffering they faced during and after the European conquest? This question is not binding.”

Vote Yes or No

Links to The Swellesley  Report’s candidate interviews for contested races:

Select Board, 3-year term (3 candidates, 2 openings)

Colette Aufranc

Odessa Sanchez

Ann Mara-Lanza

Housing Authority, 5-year term (3 candidates, 2 openings)

Micah O’Neil

Janice Coduri

Odessa Sanchez

Board of Public Works, 3-year term (2 candidates, 1 opening)

Scott Bender

John Bubeck

Town Meeting, contested precincts

Precinct B—11 candidates for 10 seats

Precinct C—13 candidates for 10 seats

Precinct E—11 candidates for 10 seats

Precinct G—13 candidates for 10 seats

Precinct H—17 candidates for 10 seats

See list of all Town Meeting candidates here.