How Much Will the U.S. Senate Elections Cost the Town?
Find out how much the upcoming elections will cost.
According to Town Clerk Laura Gemme, state elections typically cost around $25,000 to $30,000. The U.S. Senate primary and election should be in that ballpark.
Local elections cost between $20,000 and $25,000, however, state elections cost more because they require additional workers, Gemme said. Normally, money for unplanned elections would come from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund. Gemme is hoping that the state will provide some reimbursement for the town so they do not have to pull from the reserve fund.
The U.S. Senate primary will take place in Reading on April 30. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is April 10.
The Senate election is June 25 and the deadline to register to vote in that election is June 5.
Gemme is still unsure if she will have enough poll workers to cover the elections. She asked her workers for their availability and is still waiting to hear back.
"In the past we had a special election in the summer and we did okay," she said.
She noted that she had barely enough workers, but was able to pull off the election.
Rick Hagman
7:38 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
How much money does the town have in the reserve fund?
Ashley Troutman
10:44 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Hi Rick-According to Assistant Treasurer Peggy Campbell, the Fin Com reserve fund has $143,000.00.
Barb Faso
12:20 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Do you think maybe if you offered more $$ as a stipend, you would get more of a response. I have heard that Pole workers in other towns, such as Woburn, receive a bit more compensation....just a thought
Daryl Rhea
2:26 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
That beautiful electronic billboard could have been more than enough to cover the election.