The Scope covers elections every year, and as a hyper-local outlet, an odd number year is particularly exciting: It’s when Boston residents get to vote for mayor and city councilors.
Our goal is to provide you with the nitty gritty details that will impact your voting experience this year. So, we reached out to the city’s election department in order to generate this 2025-specific Q&A. You can also check out Boston’s election department website for a host of voting information.
Before we dive in, here are some top line dates:
Candidate lists go live: Early July
Preliminary municipal election (The “primary”): Sept. 9
General municipal election: Nov. 4
And here’s our email if you want to share what issues are most important to you in the coming election: ([email protected])
The following Q&A was conducted over email with responses from an election department staffer. The exchange has been edited for brevity and clarity.
When will the list of candidates be available?
Signatures from candidates were due by May 20. The department must certify signatures by June 24. The official candidate list will be released with the ballot order at the candidate ballot position drawing to be scheduled for early July.
Where’s the best place to get the list of all the candidates for the municipal election?
The official candidate list will be made available on our webpage following the June 24 signature certification deadline. Resources will continue to be added to our webpage as they become available.
Are there any special elections this year?
There are no special elections scheduled for 2025 at this time. A citywide preliminary municipal election will be held in September for the offices of mayor and city councilor at-large. However, some districts will not have a district city council race on the ballot due to an insufficient number of candidates to trigger a preliminary election.
What languages will the election materials be in?
In accordance with state law, voters in certain areas will have access to ballots in English/Spanish, English/Chinese, and English/Vietnamese on Election Day. Voters voting by mail will be able to choose their ballot language of those listed types.
Will there be any new languages available, or any new voter education resources this year?
No new languages will be available for election materials but voter education resources have been and will be produced in many of the city’s threshold languages*. The city will provide voter education resources for any new changes made to the election or voting process.
*A language spoken by 5% or more of the population within a project area or by 1,000 individuals, whichever is less, or if determined by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) to be a substantial portion of the community.
What can voters expect during and after the primary?
The preliminary municipal election narrows the number of candidates whose names will appear on the official ballot for the general municipal election to the top two candidates for mayor, the top two candidates for district city councilor [within a given district], and the top eight candidates for city councilor at-large.
When will early voting locations be announced for the preliminary and municipal elections?
Locations are being confirmed for the preliminary municipal election right now, and we will release all of them following certification by the Board of Election Commissioners. Similarly for the general municipal election we will release all of the locations immediately after certifying them. The department tries to secure sites around the entire city to make it easy for every voter to vote early if they choose. Voters may vote early at any early voting site. Each early voting site will have all ballot types available. For example, a voter that lives in Mattapan could early vote in East Boston if they wanted to.
Have there been any changes to the boundaries of the voting districts in Boston?
No, there have been no changes since the last general municipal election. The city council redistricted in 2023. The next scheduled redistricting will take place following the 2030 federal census.
Are there any new ID requirements for voting?
No, there are no new ID requirements for voting. Voters may need to provide ID if they are voting for the first time in Massachusetts or they are listed as “inactive” (they can update to “active” by completing the annual census online or by mail).
Are there any changes in the voting process this year that would be helpful for voters to know about?
We are considering some changes to improve the voting process. We will release details of these changes and educate voters once a finalized plan is approved.
Editor’s note: The city’s election department dit not make anyone available for a live interview.