Public Participation and Eligibility

To participate in the election of officials and to vote on proposed warrant articles, an individual must be a legally qualified voter of the Sudbury Water District:
A legally qualified voter of the District shall be defined as follows and shall be deemed synonymous with any reference to a legal voter of the District, qualified voter within the District, voter residing within the District, legal voter of the Sudbury Water District, or member of the District:

  1. Registered Voter: The individual must be a registered voter in the Town of Sudbury;
  2. Residency: The individual’s primary residence must be located within the geographical boundaries of the Sudbury Water District; and
  3. District Service: The residence must be serviced by the Sudbury Water District. For a property to be considered “serviced,” it must be physically connected to the District’s water infrastructure, have an active service account, and be actively receiving water service from the District.

Deadline to Register to Vote – Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 5 p.m.

  • Register In-Person, in Massachusetts, you can register to vote in-person at:
    Your local town clerks, election commission, and Boards of Registrars.
    The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division.
    The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s regional offices.
  • Voter registration forms completed in-person are valid on the day that they are signed.

    Register Online
    If you have a signature on file with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, you can register online. You can also pre-register, update your address, update your name, and change your political party designation. Voter registration forms submitted online must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the date of the voter registration deadline.

    Register by Mail
    You can register or pre-register to vote with a mail-in voter registration form. Print, fill out, and sign the voter registration form. Mail the signed form to your local election office. Your voter registration form must be postmarked by the voter registration deadline. If you are registering to vote in Massachusetts for the first time, you should include a copy of identification that shows your name and address with your form. If you don’t include a copy of your ID, you may need to show it the first time you vote.

Absentee Ballot Applications

Excuse-required absentee voting by mail is available in all elections, to those who qualify. Absentee ballot applications are available for the Sudbury Water District 89th Annual Election from Tuesday April 29, 2025 until Monday, May 19, 2025 at 12 noon.

Absentee Ballots

You can vote by absentee ballot if you are a legally qualified voter of the Sudbury Water District and:

  • You will be away from your city or town on Election Day;
  • You have a religious belief that prevents you from voting at your polling location on Election Day;
  • You have a disability that prevents you from voting at your polling location.

Absentee voters use the same ballots and have the same deadlines for returning their ballots as Election day.

You should fill out an absentee ballot application if you are a legally qualified voter of the Sudbury Water District and:

  • You are on active military duty;
  • You are a U.S. citizen living outside the U.S.;
  • You will be away from your city or town on Election Day;
  • You are requesting an emergency absentee ballot due to hospitalization;
  • You are currently incarcerated for a reason other than a felony conviction.

Applying for Your Absentee Ballot

To request your absentee ballot, you will need to submit a absentee application to Sudbury Water District:

Absentee ballot applications can be downloaded or printed here. Further, any written request with your signature is an acceptable application. You can simply write a signed letter to the Sudbury Water District requesting an absentee ballot.

Applications can be submitted by mail, email, or fax, but they must include a signature that can be compared to your hand-written signature. Electronic signatures, scanned applications, and photos of applications are acceptable.

Typed signatures on applications cannot be accepted, unless you are a voter who requires accommodations due to physical disability. If you are unable to sign your application or mark your ballot by hand due to a disability please visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Page About Voting with Disabilities for information on requesting an accommodation.

Absentee Ballot Application Deadlines

Any mail-in absentee ballot request must be received in writing by 5 p.m. on the 5th business day before the election. Your application for an absentee ballot can only be accepted if it has reached Sudbury Water District’s administration office by the deadline.

Apply as early as possible, especially if your ballot will need to be mailed out of town. The U.S. Postal Service recommends allowing up to 7 days for mail delivery. To ensure you receive your ballot with enough time to mail it back, you should apply 2-3 weeks before Election Day.

Deadline for a mail-in absentee ballot request – Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 5 pm

Absentee Ballot Application for Military & Overseas Voters

If you are a U.S citizen residing out of the country or on active military duty, you may use the Federal Post Card Application or the Sudbury Water District Absentee Ballot Application to request your ballot. More information is available on the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Voting for Military & Overseas Citizens Page.

Emergency Absentee Ballots

If you have been admitted to a healthcare facility within 1 week of the election, you may use the Sudbury Water District Absentee Ballot Application to designate someone of your choice to deliver a ballot to you. The person you designate to deliver your ballot will need to bring the signed application to your local election office, pick up your absentee ballot, bring it to you, and return it for you by the close of polls on Election Day. Emergency ballots may be requested up until the close of polls.

Accommodations

If you have a disability that prevents you from marking a paper ballot independently, you may qualify to use the Accessible Vote by Mail system. Visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Page for Voters with Disabilities to find more information and an Accessible Vote by Mail Application.

Returning Your Absentee Ballot

There are several options for returning your ballot. You may return your ballot by:

  • Mailing it back using the envelope provided; or
  • Hand-delivering your ballot to
    Sudbury Water District – Administration Office
    199 Raymond Road
    Sudbury, MA 01776

Absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at a polling place on Election Day.

For most elections, ballots must reach your local election office by close of polls on Election Day to be counted.

Voting in Person

You may arrange with the Sudbury Water District administration staff to cast your absentee ballot in person at the Sudbury Water District Administration office  until 12 p.m. on the day before the election. If the day before the election is a weekend or holiday, in-person absentee voting will end at 5 p.m. on the last business day before the election.

You can still vote in person at your polling place if you’ve applied for an absentee ballot, as long as you haven’t yet returned the ballot.

You can’t vote in person if your ballot has been accepted by your local election office (the Sudbury Water District administration office). You can’t take your ballot back or vote again.

If your ballot hasn’t been accepted by Election Day, you may vote in person at your polling place. If your ballot arrives at your local election office after you’ve voted, the mail-in ballot will be rejected.

  Absentee Ballot Application

 View Specimen Ballot 

For further information regarding absentee voting please contact:
Sudbury Water District
199 Raymond Road
P.O. Box 111
Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

Ph: 978-443-6602
Fax: 978-443-9587
customerservice@sudburywater.com