Voters head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in contests for offices ranging from regional school committee member to U.S. Senator – and to decide the fate of a proposed new elementary school.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 6. While the airwaves and registered voters’ mailboxes have been flooded with material about statewide contests, Wareham voters’ preferences will have the most influence on more local matters.

Decas School at Minot Forest

Ballot Question 4 asks voters to approve a $40 million “debt exclusion” to pay the town’s portion of costs to construct a new $90 million consolidated elementary school.

Tentatively named the Decas School at Minot Forest, the new school would be built at the site of the current Minot Forest School. Designed to educate 1,020 students from kindergarten through Grade 4, the new school would replace both the Minot Forest School and Decas Elementary School. The state has committed to contributing roughly $50 million to the project if voters approve the town share.

Both current elementary schools are in need of extensive electrical, mechanical and plumbing upgrades to meet current building codes – in addition to expensive removal of asbestos hazards and structural changes needed to make the buildings handicap accessible. Exploration of renovating both schools generated a cost estimate of $74 million. Unlike new construction, such repairs are not eligible for state funds.

If approved, the debt exclusion would allow the town to raise property taxes above Proposition 2-1/2 limits only by the amount required to pay off the $40 million debt over a period of 20 years.

For Wareham property owners, that would mean an 82-cent increase in annual taxes for each $1,000 of assessed value. To calculate how much an individual property’s taxes would increase, visit www.newschool.warehammps.org.

Town Meeting overwhelming approved borrowing for the new school, and a “yes” on Question 4 is supported by all selectmen, Finance Committee members and School Committee members. While there is no organized opposition, proponents are keenly aware of Wareham voters’ longstanding anti-tax sentiment and are campaigning hard to get school supporters to the polls.

Read answers to some of the common questions surrounding the school by clicking the link below:

Questions, answers on proposed $90 million school 

To hear more about the issue, check out Wareham Week Reporter Meg Neely’s new podcast by clicking here.

Candidates

In other locally-focused contests, state Rep. Susan Williams Gifford (R-Wareham) is facing a challenge from Democrat Sarah Hewins of Carver to represent the district which includes Wareham, Carver and Middleboro. Gifford is seeking her ninth term in the house and Hewins is a current Selectmen and former longtime Conservation Agent for her town and Planning Board member. The pair faced off against each other two years ago. 

For more on that race, see the link below: 

Meet the candidates for the 2nd Plymouth District seat

And two Bourne residents are mounting write-in campaigns for an open seat on the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School School Committee.

For more on that race, click on the link below.

2 launch write-in campaigns for Upper Cape Tech School Committee

Also on the ballot:

In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Warren is facing a challenge from Republican Geoff Diehl. Warren is a consumer protection advocate and former law professor.

Diehl currently represents Abington, Whitman and East Bridgewater as a state representative.  Also running is independent Shiva Ayyadurai of Belmont, a scientist with four degrees from MIT.

In the U.S. House of Representatives race, incumbent Democrat Bill Keating is seeking his fourth term. His opponent is Republican Peter Tedeschi, whose grandfather founded the Tedeschi Food Shops chain. He has served as CEO of Tedeschi Food Shops. 

Incumbent Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is being challenged by Democrat Jay Gonzalez, a former state secretary of Administration and Finance. 

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, a Republican who has been in office since 2001, is seeking another term. His opponent is Democrat John Bradley, Jr., a career prosecutor who has tried more than 30 murder cases. 

The three statewide ballot questions concern nurse staffing levels, campaign finance and gender identity discrimination. For more on those issues, visit: www.ballotpedia.org. 

While most of those who vote in Wareham will go to the polls on Nov. 6, hundreds have taken advantage of early voting. Offered in Wareham for only the second time – the first was the 2016 presidential election – early voting gives residents more than a week to cast ballots at their convenience. 

 “People who come in say it’s wonderful being able to vote on their own time,” said Town Clerk Mary Ann Silva. “There’s no waiting.”

Polls were open on select days from Oct. 22 until Nov. 1 in Town Hall. As of Oct. 30, 1,480 people cast ballots in early voting.

This year, the town took advantage of new technology available from the state to simplify the early voting process, said Silva. Wareham poll workers used “poll pads”: iPads that processed voter information and verified addresses. Silva said the technology speeded along check-in and required fewer staff.