Reading, MA — Reading Town Clerk Laura Gemme extends her thanks following the successful State Election held on November 5, 2024, as well as the Children’s Election, which took place alongside the general election. The Clerk’s office, in collaboration with town departments such as Police Department, Fire Department, Public Schools, Library, Department of Public Works, Recreation, Facilities Department, Human Resources, and Town Hall staff, worked seamlessly to ensure the safety and smooth operation of the election for voters, election workers, volunteers, and participating students and families.
“I want to thank all the volunteers for helping with mailing out all the vote-by-mail ballots, early voting, and election day operations,” said Gemme. “We had a tremendous response of new and experienced election staff stepping up to work Election day. This election period was a success because of the volunteers and staff and is a testament to the strong team we have here in Reading.”
Children’s Election
The Clerk’s office holds the Children’s Election with every Presidential election, which allows students and their families to participate in a mock election. Parents were able to bring their children to vote alongside them, with younger voters casting ballots in a kid-friendly election designed to mirror the real voting process. The Children’s Election gave students the opportunity to learn about civic engagement while also experiencing the excitement of democracy firsthand. The initiative was a great success, with strong participation from young residents who had the chance to understand the importance of voting in a way that was both enjoyable and informative.
Children Voter Turnout and Results
For this year’s Children Election, Reading saw an excellent turnout, with 389 ballots cast. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz of the Democratic Party received 247 (63%) won the majority of young voters. Donald Trump and JD Vance of the Republican Party was second with 81 (21%) of the votes. 38 votes were cast for the third-party candidates, and lastly, there was a total of 23 write-in ballots. The write-ins included Mom & Dad, Charlie Brown, Baby Yoda, Taylor Swift, and Michael Jordan, to name a few.
“The Children’s Election is a fantastic way to engage our children with the democratic process,” said Gemme. This year’s presidential race was a fun reminder that the next generation of voters is already thinking about ways to make the world a better place. To see the full results of the kid election, please go to: https://www.readingma.gov/254/Elections.
State and Local Elections
For this year’s Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the Town had a great turnout at the Reading Memorial High School Field House. A total of 16,078 ballots were cast, with a 76.4% voter turnout. These numbers are unofficial until the final certification is complete, which will be completed by November 20, 2024.
In advance of election day, volunteers and staff assembled and mailed 7,974 ballots. 7,140 ballots mail-in were returned by voters. Early voting efforts were also extremely robust, with 2,944 ballots cast. Finally, 6,877 ballots were cast in person on Election Day.
Election staff and volunteers will begin preparing for the next election in the spring.
Voters with questions about their voter registration status can check here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx and track their ballot here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/wheredoivotema/track/trackmyballot.aspx. Other questions should be directed to the Town Clerk’s office at 781-942-9050.
Click here for the November 5, 2024 General Election Results.
