Revere City Council opts into early voting, approves schedule and sets Sept. 16 preliminary

The Revere City Council at its August meeting voted to opt into Massachusetts' early voting provisions, approved a revised early-voting schedule that removes a Sunday session for a Ward 1 preliminary and approved the municipal preliminary election warrant for Sept. 16.

Election Commissioner Danielle Petrantonio told the council the preliminary will be limited to Ward 1 for a Ward 1 school committee seat and that the only change she recommended to the city's early-voting plan was to remove the Sunday session. "We're going to have a municipal preliminary just in Ward 1 just for the Ward 1 school committee seat," Petrantonio said. "The only change we're asking to make is just to remove the Sunday." She said the office will still be open Saturday and that the office must be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the last day to register to vote.

The change takes effect for the 2025 municipal preliminary and the council approved the schedule for both the municipal preliminary and the regular municipal election. Petrantonio explained that except for presidential elections — where early voting is mandated — jurisdictions must opt in for other election years. "Since the Votes Act, with COVID, it it'll be a constant. You still have to opt in," she said when asked whether early voting is now standard.

Councilors asked procedural questions about campaign signs and nomination-paper deadlines during the discussion. Councilor McKenna asked when candidates may place campaign signs; Petrantonio said sign placement on private property is not regulated by the city. Councilor Cogliano said she will propose at the next meeting to remove the city's political sign ordinance as unenforceable and confusing. "I do have a motion in for our next meeting to remove that ordinance from the city the political sign ordinance because it's unenforceable and it does confuse people a lot," Cogliano said.

Petrantonio also described where sign-free zones will be enforced around early-voting entrances, saying the city uses a 150-foot buffer measured from the entrance used for voting. "On technically, on the books, it's a 150 feet from the entrance," she said, adding that at city hall the buffer would cover the small island around the building and effectively places the limit across Pleasant, Unchever and Broadway.

Councilor Novoselski asked about deadlines for filing nomination papers; Petrantonio said the filing window predated her tenure and was longer this cycle, with a signature deadline noted as April 28 and a turn-in date that had been July 29. She said she plans to shorten that window for the next municipal cycle.

The council took three formal votes during the agenda item. Council President Silvestri called the question on whether to opt into early voting under Massachusetts law (citing MGL chapter 54, section 25B) and recorded the motion as approved. The council then voted to approve the early-voting schedule for the municipal preliminary and the regular municipal election. Finally the council approved the municipal preliminary election warrant setting the Sept. 16 preliminary.

All three motions were approved by voice vote with no opposition recorded on the transcript. The meeting proceeded to the next agenda item after the votes.