How to Run for Ward or Town Committee

The 2024 Massachusetts Presidential Primaries will be held on March 5, 2024. In addition to candidates for President of the United States, the ballots will also include the party offices of state committee and ward or town committee.

In Massachusetts, ward and town committees are the building blocks of political parties. In towns, party town committees are elected town-wide. In cities, party committees are elected by voters in each ward.

Ward and town committees range in size from 3-35 elected members. Their duties include:

• Representing their party at the local and neighborhood level; and
• Promoting the objectives of the party; and
• Working for the nomination and election of party candidates.

Running as a Write-in Candidate

The deadline to have your name printed on the Presidential Primary ballot has passed. If you wish to run for ward or town committee, the only remaining option is to run for ward and town committee is as a write-in candidate.

Write-in spaces are provided on the ballot for ward and town committee only if there are fewer candidates running than there are seats to be elected.

The number of write-in spaces provided on your ballot will equal the difference between the total number of candidates that can be elected to your committee and the number of candidates printed on the ballot.

Download this list (XLSX) to check how many members your committee will be able to elect in 2024. The number of members to be elected was chosen by the existing committee.

To be elected as a write-in candidate, you must:

• Meet the party enrollment requirements (see below)
• Receive at least 5 votes
• Be among the top vote-getters

Running on a Slate

If there are multiple write-in spaces on your ballot, you may choose to join with others to run as a write-in slate. Running as a slate means that you ask voters to write-in a group of candidates, instead of just one.

If you choose to run on a slate, make sure that you know how many write-in spaces are available. If a voter votes for more candidates than there are seats to be elected, their votes for ward or town committee will be tallied as blanks.

You may ask voters to write-in each candidate’s name and address in the spaces provided, or you may provide stickers to voters to place in the open spaces. For information on sticker dimensions, see below.

Using Stickers

Write-in candidates are allowed to provide stickers to voters, which can be placed over the write-in spaces on the ballot.

If you use stickers, check with your local election office to find out what kind of ballots your community uses. If your ballots are read by a scanner, the stickers must be:

• No wider than 2.25 inches
• No longer than 0.25 inchers per candidate (multiply 0.25 by the number of candidates listed for the total length)

If your town uses hand-counted paper ballots, the sticker should be no wider than 4 inches and no higher than 5/16 inches per candidate.

Though votes will be counted as long as the intent of the voter can be determined, you should comply with the following legal requirements when printing your stickers:

• Print each candidate’s name and address, in the manner in which they are registered to vote.
• Do not print any additional information on the stickers (such as party, veteran status, or occupation).
• Print candidate names in all capital letters, with the letters measuring 1/8 inches to ¼ inches in height.
• Print the candidates’ addresses after each name, in smaller type size than the name.

Before printing your stickers, ask your local election official for a sample ballot. Spaces for write-in candidates may be printed in more than one column of your ballot.

If you do choose to use stickers, we recommend providing some to your local election official as early as possible, so they can be used in voting equipment testing.

Distributing Materials

As a write-in candidate, it is your responsibility to campaign and educate voters about how to write your name on the ballot or apply your sticker.

Make sure voters know where to place any stickers you provide. The sticker should be placed immediately below the candidates printed on the ballot for ward or town committee, and should not cover any other offices.

Instructions can be provided to voters before Election Day or outside of the polling places.

Stickers can’t be distributed inside of a polling place or within 150 feet of the entrance to the polling place. You also cannot ask any person to write your name on the ballot within 150 feet of the polling place – no campaigning is permitted within this zone.

Party Enrollment Requirements

To be elected to a party committee, you must have been a registered member of your party since Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

You also cannot have been registered with a different political party (Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian) since November 21, 2022.

If you are a new voter in Massachusetts, and you registered to vote for the first time after August 23, 2023, you must have been an enrolled member of your party as of the day you registered to vote.

Organizing & Filling Vacancies

After the results are certified, your local election official will issue a certificate of election to anyone who is determined to be elected to the ward or town committee.

Your clerk will send copies of the results to the current committee chair (if any) and to the state party committee. The Elections Division does not receive results for ward and town committees.

The newly-elected committee must meet to hold its first organizational meeting between April 4 – April 14, 2024. At that time, the committee can fill any vacancies that still exist.

The new committee must also select officers at this first organizational meeting. After organizing, your committee secretary must submit the CPF 101 WTC form (PDF) to:

• The Office of Campaign and Political Finance
• The Elections Division
• Your state party committee
• Your local election office

Calendar of Events

Below is a calendar of dates and deadlines for ward and town committee candidates to be aware of. All deadlines are at 5 p.m., unless otherwise noted.