City clerk outlines deadlines, ballot content for Nov. 4 Framingham election

Lisa Ferguson, Framingham's city clerk, told the City Council on Oct. 2 that the municipal election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, and reviewed voter deadlines and ballot content.

Ferguson said polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and that the in-person voter registration deadline is Saturday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m.; online registration closes at 11:59 p.m. that day. The clerk's office will be open Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for in-person registration. Absentee ballots are available to voters who will be absent from Framingham during polling hours, voters with disabilities, and voters with qualifying religious beliefs; military and overseas voters may also use absentee ballots. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.

Ferguson said the ballot will include one mayoral seat, district councilor and school committee seats, six library trustee seats, three cemetery trustee seats and one charter amendment question. She told the council the city distributed a postcard with a QR code linking to the city's election page and has posted detailed materials about the charter question, including the redline draft and committee recommendations, on the city website under Elections and Voting.

Ferguson said ballots were received from the printer on Oct. 6 and, as of Oct. 7, ballots requested by mail had been mailed. For residents without internet access, printed election materials are available at both libraries, the Callahan Center and the City Clerk's Office, and will be available at polling places on Election Day.

The clerk emphasized legal limits on the clerk's role: she is the city's chief election officer, required to provide neutral information about process and deadlines but not to advise voters on how to vote or interpret ballot questions. She said when answering questions about the charter amendment content she is typically joined by Adam Blumer, chair of the Charter Review Committee, or Councilor Malek, who can address substance while she provides neutral procedural information.

Ferguson said the clerk's office has been sharing election information throughout the summer and fall through the city website, social media, newsletters and community events, and that mailed notices met and exceeded the statutory requirement to mail information about the ballot question at least two weeks before the election.

The announcement included practical reminders about deadlines and locations and reiterated that voters who cannot or choose not to vote in person may request a mail ballot under the state rules Ferguson described.