Option A:  Vote on Warrant Articles at the Polls

​

Today, to cast a vote on a warrant article, you must be physically present at town meeting.

​

This is often a hardship for people.  And, as the March 23, 2024 meeting demonstrated, it is hard to find a space big enough to accommodate those who want to vote.

​

The many town citizens who are unable to attend town meeting lose the privilege of voting on articles determining the future of the town.

​

We propose a new approach to town governance:

​

1)    Hold town meeting as usual, where issues are raised, discussed and debated by those who want to attend the meeting.  Any amendments would need to be made at that meeting.  The meeting would be televised, as it is currently, by Westford CAT.
 

2)    No votes on the warrant articles would be cast at the town meeting itself.
 

3)    Instead, the articles as amended would be put on a ballot, and voted on at the polls.

 

In this way, anyone who could make it to a polling station would be able to cast a vote without having to spend arduous hours in town meeting itself.

 

In a recent meeting, Jim Arciero and Anita Tonakarn-Nguyen agreed to identify obstacles to this approach, so that we could begin to address them.

​

In order to get anything to happen, we need to demonstrate that there is a lot of support for such a change.

If you support this approach, or some other way of enabling people to vote on warrant articles without attending town meeting, please subscribe, and we’ll keep you informed about our progress, and likely ask for your help in bringing this about.