This year, primary day in Massachusetts will fall on Sept. 1. But most locals know that date as something else: Allston Christmas, Greater Boston’s infamous moving day where apartments turn over to new tenants.
Sept. 1 lease cycles account for over two-thirds of apartments in the Boston area — and tens of thousands of renters. For many renters, that means voting could fall by the wayside.
“A voter who moves shortly before an election may have a lot to manage, and updating that voter registration can easily fall through the cracks,” said Geoff Foster, executive director of the nonprofit watchdog Common Cause Massachusetts.
Having a lease that starts on primary day isn’t enough to prove residency. Voter registration closes 10 days before Election Day, so renters on a Sept. 1 lease in a new home will not have time to update their addresses to vote from their new home.
Anyone moving within the state of Massachusetts should be voting at their “old” address — early or by mail, if they want — and anyone moving in from out of state is ineligible to vote in the Massachusetts primary, according to the secretary of state’s office. They may be eligible to vote in their old state, depending on that state’s policies.
Shanique Rodriguez, the executive director of the advocacy group Massachusetts Voter Table, said that registration for renters and other transient populations may shut them out from voting on issues directly affecting them.
“Voting should not be based on specifically your ability to stay at one location,” Rodriguez said. “The fact that they can’t put down roots anywhere is an issue that’s likely on the ballot and something that elected officials need to solve. It’s the people who are most impacted that should be able to drive how policy moves.”
Registration will be decided on the ballot in the general. That’s part of why advocacy groups such as Common Cause Massachusetts are campaigning for Question 4 on the ballot in November, which would allow voters to make changes to their address — or even register for the first time — on Election Day.
“Missing a paperwork deadline should not mean losing your vote,” Foster said.
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Deb O’Malley, a spokesperson for the secretary of the commonwealth’s office, said this issue is not new — nor is it exclusive to renters. The office is backing the ballot question, too.
“This comes up with every election where people are moving,” she said. “This isn’t just a renter problem. And certainly there are parts of Massachusetts where everybody doesn’t move on September 1.”
The bottom line: Voters should submit ballots where they live at that moment.
“You cannot register to vote someplace until you’re actually residing there, which means you are sleeping there,” O’Malley said.
Sept. 1 renters have a few options:
- Voters moving within the same district can continue voting at their old polling place.
- Voters moving to a different district within Massachusetts have a six-month period during which they can vote at their old polling place. As soon as they move, they can register at their new polling place. If they want to avoid commuting back to their old neighborhood, they may vote early or by mail.
- Voters moving to Massachusetts from out of state should vote at their old polling place in their old home state, and take advantage of early voting and vote-by-mail options if they can to get their ballots in before they move out.
For anyone voting in their previous state’s elections, O’Malley said they should wait to update their registrations to Massachusetts until after those elections are called. Once registered in a new state, they will be removed from their home state’s lists, and their votes could be tossed.
The Sept. 1 leasing cycle is largely driven by Greater Boston’s student population, which amounts to over 150,000 people. But many of these students don’t intend to vote in Massachusetts.
Carter Umphress is the co-chair of the Harvard Votes Challenge, which helps mobilize Harvard students to vote. The rising junior said most of the students he’s spoken to have chosen to keep their registrations at home.
“Because Massachusetts is so dominated by one party, a lot of people do feel that their vote counts more in their home state,” he said.
Umphress is from Nevada and plans to cast his ballot there.
“Nevada is a swing state,” he said. “I thought that it was the best way to ensure my voice was heard.”
But for Foster of Common Cause Massachusetts, simply having the option to vote where you live is critical.
“It doesn’t matter if they’ve lived for 50 years at the same address or if they just moved in 50 minutes ago,” he said. “Our Constitution is clear that eligible voters should be able to cast a ballot that counts.”
