AMHERST — A heavy workload that often takes him away from Amherst typically prompts Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg to apply for absentee ballots prior to election day so he can participate in the democratic process.
But with early voting for state elections in place for the first time starting this week, Rosenberg was able to drop into Amherst Town Hall Wednesday afternoon to vote, waiting less than a minute to be checked in and to get his ballot.
Early voting, adopted by the Legislature in 2014 and signed into law by former Gov. Deval Patrick, is about making sure people with busy lives can get to the polls, Rosenberg said, and not be denied their constitutional right by an emergency that takes them out of town at the last minute.
“This way we can spread voting out over a 12-day period and people can vote when it’s convenient,” said Rosenberg, comparing that to 13 hours on Election Day. “The whole idea is to increase voting.”
The Amherst Democrat said such legislation for state elections was long overdue, with Massachusetts becoming the 34th state to have some form of early voting.
Early voting may also reduce lines on Election Day, he said. When Rosenberg has been in town to vote in the past, even early arrival at his voting place has meant waiting in line behind 10 to 15 other voters.
Rosenberg said he supports encouraging the Legislature to continue with additional changes to voting laws to make it easier for people to register.
This next wave of initiatives, he said, may include universal voter registration when residents turn 18, and voter registration at the polls.
“It’s making it as easy as possible for people to participate,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg is one of more than 1,100 voters in Amherst who have already voted, a total that he said shows it is working. This represents about 5 percent of the 22,231 registered voters.
Early voting has been taking place weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Town Hall, Tuesdays and Thursdays on the University of Massachusetts campus, and will also be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Munson Memorial Library, 1046 South East St., and the North Fire Station, 603 East Pleasant St.
There are modest costs to cities and towns, as well as the state, but benefits to turnout are important, Rosenberg said.
Brian McNiff, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, said the Legislature included $400,000 in this year’s budget to cover the costs of early voting, with $234,150 provided to more than 280 communities for opening up on weekends.
While some voters coming to the polls could be heard joking about “voting early and often,” a phrase often used to suggest there might be corruption in the electoral process, Rosenberg said “early and often” voting is what he hopes does happens.
“It is early and often,” Rosenberg said. “Often means every election — but voting just once during each election.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
