Congratulations to the new members of town government - thank you and all who ran for participating in this valuable part of our democratic process.  The 2023 information will be archived and a new set of candidates will be here in 2024. If you would like to help in this process please send an email to vote01890@gmail.com.  Thank you and have a great year!

OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS are posted at the Town website - preliminary and final when they are available: https://www.winchester.us/906/Election-Results.   Preliminary Results (2023-03-19) 

Analytics for Vote01890 - Pages and views, and "engagement time" (minutes) for the month before the election..   

This site makes information available to voters in Winchester Massachusetts that relate to town wide voting events. All candidates for local office are encouraged to provide for sharing on this site,  their profile information, which can include a photo, how to contact them (by email, phone, or other social media), a statement of their position. why they should get your vote, and a two minute video stating their position. 

Listen up, Candidates:  

1. Submit your information with this form.

2. Send your photo by email to vote01890@gmail.com .

3. Record your video at WinCAM or on your mobile phone and send it in. More details at Your Video.

Voters:

After January 26th the candidates will be set (although some might withdraw before election day March 18th). Visit this site and browse their statements to decide which candidates you wish to support. Check other sources of election information that you frequent and stay informed. 

Why?

1. Civic participation is how democracy thrives. Quit complaining and run for local office! If you hold an elected or appointed position in Town Government you participate in the planning, policy and decision-making that affects every resident directly. For example, Town Meeting approves major expenditures and approves the school budget. Select Board appoints the Town Manager. Many committees study issues and make reports and recommendations to the parts of Town Government that decide key issues!  

2. The collapse of local newspapers and other sources of information has reduced the flow of important local information; this is a site to provide some backfill to the vacuum.

3. All candidates for (local) office should have the ability to make a statement and let voters know how to reach them to follow up and have an informative exchange. 

Basic rules:

1. Candidates are encouraged to state their own positions. Defamatory or impolite statements about other candidates or other individuals or groups will disqualify those statements from being published on this site.

2. No statements supporting violence or threat of violence will be allowed. False information and lies will be removed (if it even gets on the page).

3. Candidates who wish to use this system are encouraged to fill out this form and submit their information.  Photos should be emailed to vote01890@gmail.com , and video recordings can be arranged by appointment at WinCAM.

4. If you prefer to record your own video please hold your phone in landscape (horizontally) and send it using https://www.transfernow.net/en addressed to vote01890@gmail.com. See more information about your video here.

5. Submitted information that does not comply with these rules will be disqualified from posting. All decisions are final; feel free to make changes and resubmit.

6. If you prefer your contact information removed (email, phone, or both) from this website please reply from the email you have used to register as a candidate. 

Do your part early!

7. This project is a purely volunteer activity with the work done with "available time". The later you submit everything the shorter your opportunity to reach voters. If you are thinking of running for local office, it is not too early to start pulling your information together and sending it in. Don't wait!

What's the cost to me?

There is no monetary cost to the candidates to have their photo, statement, and video (and if desired their existing campaign website). If you wish to help offset the cost of doing this project send an email and we can talk about it.

Want to help?

If you think this activity has value and you have the time and energy to help out, please send us a note to:  vote01890@gmail.com  and let's talk - many time consuming activities require no technical skill beyond email and telephone; for example, 

1. Contacting and verifying candidate profiles,  

2. Finding informational resources not already listed, 

3. Fact checking (!?! what ?!?) for obviously incorrect statements, 

4. helping with appointments at WinCAM and even helping with recording the videos -- in fact no prior training is needed; WinCAM will train you (when they can -- there are many activities already under way).  Membership in WinCAM is one of the best hidden gems of deals in town.

Questions?

Any questions should be sent by email to:  vote01890@gmail.com 

Official Election Information

Official information is posted on the Winchester Town website : a special page is dedicated to election information. 

Content on this site is for informational purposes only, and is intended to be neutral and non-partisan in nature. If you see any inappropriate statements please write to  vote01890@gmail.com 

Other sources of information

League of Women Voters Winchester

The Winchester chapter of the League of Women Voters typically sends a survey to solicit candidate information to be posted on their website.  LWV also holds debates so voters can hear directly from the candidates. 

Chamber of Commerce

Winchester's Chamber of Commerce typically holds a members meeting to introduce some candidates and is an opportunity for chamber members to interact directly with those candidates. 

Other Organizations

For issues related election events such as the January 2023 vote on Lynch School override, community and committees can organize their own websites to share information.

Groups organized in preparation for the 2022 election season and held their own debates on WinCAM.   For example, Future WInchester was able to use WinCAM facilities to present informational videos.

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

This project is supported in part by WinCAM -- your video statement can be recorded there, and WinCAM staff can help add your name and position. For the purpose of this activity you do not have to be a member since it is a project run by an existing member. 

If your local civic organization would like to be listed as supporting this project please contact us.

Who started this project?

This website is brought to you by Shukong Ou and Ted Michalski. We are both candidates for Town Meeting in our Precincts.  If you are interested in helping feel free to contact us at vote01890@gmail.com .