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Election Day Tuesday: South Coast polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and ballots postmarked by Tuesday count if they arrive by Friday

Polls open at 7 a.m. across the South Coast, the state's voter guide says. Ballots mailed by Election Day count if they arrive by 5 p.m. Friday, so Tuesday night's numbers stay unofficial.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Nov. 1, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 1, 2026, 1:27 a.m. ET

SOUTH COAST Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, across the South Coast, and a voter who is in line by 8 p.m. can still cast a ballot, the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters guide says. State law lets a city or town open its polls as early as 5:45 a.m. for a state election, but Fall River, Taunton, Dartmouth and eight other South Coast communities list a 7 a.m. opening in their own warrants, notices and clerk pages.

Ballots mailed on or before Election Day still count if they reach the local election office by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, under state law, so clerks will keep adding votes after Tuesday night and every number posted that night is unofficial. In Taunton, the Elections Department said it had mailed more than 7,000 ballots and received more than 5,000 back as of Friday, Oct. 30, leaving about 2,000 that could still arrive in time to be counted.

Hours as each community posted them

Fall River, Taunton, Dartmouth, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Marion, Wareham, Somerset, Swansea, Dighton and Freetown each list 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in their election warrants, notices or clerk pages. Fall River's Elections Department says the hours hold at all of its precincts, and Wareham's flyer says the same for all of its polling places. The Secretary's guide gives 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for every polling place in Massachusetts.

SC360's where to vote guide lists or links each community's polling places, including the seven Fall River precincts and two New Bedford precincts that vote at new sites this year. Wareham's election flyer states the ID rule most voters face: "You do not need an ID to vote, however presenting one can make the check-in process faster." The rule for first-time voters who must show one, and what happens when a name is missing from the list, are in our guide to voters' rights at the polls, and every race and question on each town's ballot is in our town by town ballot guide.

Last chances before Tuesday

In-person absentee voting at the clerk's office ends at noon Monday, Nov. 2, in Taunton, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea and Dighton, each community's own notice says. In Acushnet, noon Monday is the deadline for absentee ballot applications. A ballot left in a town's drop box or handed in at the clerk's office has to arrive before the polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, under state law.

Ballots mailed from outside the United States, including military ballots, count if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, Freetown's election page and Taunton's Elections Department say.

Two ballot cards in Taunton

Taunton's ballot runs two cards this year, so the count on each DS200 tabulator screen shows ballots, not voters, and turnout is roughly half that number, the city's Elections Department says. Some mailed ballots may hold only one card, so the tabulator count may not be exactly double the number of voters checked in. On Election Day, anyone who wants a precinct's unofficial turnout should ask that precinct's warden, the department says.

When results will post

Taunton expects its first unofficial results Tuesday night into Wednesday, Nov. 4, and says they will take longer to release because of the two-card ballot and higher turnout. After the ballots are counted, election workers have to add blanks by hand for every ballot card that was not returned, which the department calls a manual, labor-intensive process. Election night totals will not include hand-counted ballots, write-in votes or most provisional ballots. Results come as a citywide summary plus a report for each of the city's 18 precincts.

Taunton's post-election tabulation, which counts ballots received on Election Day and mailed ballots that arrive by Friday, is set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in City Council Chambers. Its Election Commission meets at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, for overseas ballots, and the city certifies its results at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Dartmouth posts unofficial results on the town's Election Results page once every precinct has reported, historically around 9:30 or 10 p.m., said Peter Chasse, the town's director of media. Freetown posts them on the town website behind a pop-up link, and the office makes them available "as soon as humanly possible after 8pm," Town Clerk Cheryl C.A. Estrella said. In Swansea, the machine tapes are read when the polls close at Joseph Case High School, and once all five precincts are compiled, the unofficial tally sheet goes on the town's homepage under news and announcements, Interim Town Clerk Celine E. Brown said.

Marion's results go on the town's 2026 State Elections Unofficial and Official Results page, and the town has a post-election tabulation set for 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in the Town Clerk's office, to be canceled if it is not needed. Mattapoisett will process its early and absentee ballots at a central tabulation facility inside Old Hammondtown School, where both of its precincts vote, open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Fall River's post-election tabulation of absentee and early ballots, open to the public, starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in the Atrium at One Government Center, the Elections Department says, and Freetown counts its late mail ballots Friday, Nov. 6, as SC360 reported.

Tuesday's weather

The National Weather Service office in Norton, in its New Bedford forecast updated at 3:56 p.m. Saturday, calls for a mostly sunny Election Day with a high near 66, a southwest wind of 3 to 7 mph and a 0% chance of rain. It calls for a partly cloudy Tuesday night with a low around 51.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from Massachusetts election law, the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters guide, the posted warrants, notices and election pages of 11 South Coast communities, statements from the Freetown and Swansea town clerks and Dartmouth's director of media, and the National Weather Service forecast, all listed below. We read them on Nov. 1, 2026. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: the other clerks' answers on where their results will post are still due and will be added as they arrive.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (19)

  1. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 54, Section 64: Time of opening and closing pollsPolls at a state election may open as early as 5:45 a.m., must open by 7 a.m. and may not close before 8 p.m. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  2. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 54, Section 93: Absent voting ballots, return deadlinesBallots mailed by a biennial state election are accepted until 5 p.m. on the third day after; drop box and in-person returns are due before the polls close. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  3. Secretary of the Commonwealth: Information for Voters, 2026 (posted by the Fall River Elections Department as "2026 State Election Voter Guide")Poll hours statewide and the in line by 8 p.m. rule. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  4. Fall River Elections DepartmentPoll hours for all precincts; post-election tabulation Sat. Nov. 7, 9 a.m., Atrium at One Government Center. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  5. City of Taunton: Warrant for 2026 State Election (fully executed)Poll hours. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  6. Taunton Elections Department: Election Day Certification Process and Unofficial Results, Nov. 3, 2026 State General ElectionTwo-card ballot, ballots outstanding as of Oct. 30, results timing and contents, tabulation and certification dates. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  7. City of Taunton: Calendar of Events, November 2026 General ElectionLast day for in-person absentee voting. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  8. Town of Dartmouth: Warrant for 2026 State ElectionPoll hours. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  9. Town of Dartmouth: Election ResultsWhere unofficial results post, per Peter Chasse, director of media, Town of Dartmouth, Oct. 31, 2026.
  10. Acushnet Town Clerk: November 3rd State Election Information, Schedule and DeadlinesPosted Sept. 29, 2026. Poll hours and the absentee application deadline. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  11. Town of Mattapoisett: Warrant for 2026 State ElectionPoll hours and polling place. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  12. Mattapoisett Town Clerk: Central Tabulation Notice, Nov. 3, 2026 State ElectionDated Sept. 15, 2026. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  13. Town of Marion: Town Meeting and Election InformationPoll hours, results page and post-election tabulation. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  14. Town of Wareham: State Election flyerPolling hours for all polling locations. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  15. Town of Somerset: 2026 State Election, November 3, 2026Polling hours and in-person absentee deadline. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  16. Swansea Town Clerk: 2026 State ElectionPolling hours and in-person absentee deadline; results route per Interim Town Clerk Celine E. Brown, Oct. 31, 2026. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  17. Town of Dighton: State Election, Important Dates (News Flash posted Oct. 15, 2026)Poll hours and the last day to vote absentee in person. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  18. Town of Freetown: State Election, November 3, 2026Poll hours, in-person absentee deadline, mail and overseas ballot deadlines; results route per Town Clerk Cheryl C.A. Estrella, Oct. 31, 2026. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  19. National Weather Service, Norton: forecast for New BedfordUpdated 3:56 p.m. Oct. 31, 2026. Read Nov. 1, 2026.

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