On Friday, September 27, Eva Szkaradek retired after serving twenty years as Acton’s town clerk and a total of more than 30 years in Acton town government. In her role as town clerk, she has been the community’s official record keeper—tracking births, marriages, and deaths as well as conducting an annual census of local residents. A certified Massachusetts municipal clerk, she has also issued business certificates, marriage licenses, dog licenses, and raffle permits.
One of her primary duties has been coordinating and administering federal, state, and town elections. “Eva has dedicated her career to serving the people of Acton,” says Town Manager John Mangiaratti. “The Town Clerk oversees the election process, which is the core of local government operations. Eva has successfully implemented dozens of critical elections and town meetings.”
Voting by mail and early in-person voting were the biggest changes in the election process over the years, Szkaradek notes. Any registered voter can now request a mail-in ballot, no excuse needed. This year, vote-by-mail applications must be received by the Town Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29. Applications may also be submitted online at www.VoteInMA.com.
Voting by mail has substantially increased the workload for the Town Clerk’s office. Ballots need to be sent not just to Acton, but to voters, such as college students, who are out of town, out of state, or even out of the country. “We need to get them out as soon as possible,” says Szkaradek, “to give voters time to look at the ballot and, for this election, read about the five ballot questions and get themselves prepared [to vote].” Election workers come in and help within the office, and town staff pitch in as well. “We really cherish their assistance,” said Szkaradek.
Early in-person voting is another relatively recent change. For a state election, voters can cast their ballots in the Town Clerk’s office in Town Hall two weeks prior to election day. For the upcoming election, voting will be held October 19 to November 1 during office hours. Szkaradek expects a large turnout for the presidential election on November 5 when polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Acton hasn’t experienced any problems with voter registration or election fraud, she says, although residents have sometimes told her, “I got a ballot in the mail, and I’m voting now, so I get to vote twice.” She informs them that if they’ve already voted, it’s coded in the state system. If they come to the polls, they won’t be allowed to vote again.
For Town Meetings, Szkaradek worked with the IT (Information Technology) Department and the Town Manager’s office to make sure everything was ready, and stationed election workers in the check-in area and Town Meeting itself. With today’s technology, tallying votes by counting raised hands or slips of paper is no longer necessary. Instead, voters use clickers, but election workers are there to help if one fails or a battery falls out.
Each year, the Town Clerk conducts a local census. Surveys are sent to residents at the end of December or first week in January. “We’ve tried to make this as convenient as possible for all residents,” says Szkaradek. “Completed surveys can be mailed or dropped off in the drop box by Town Hall.” The Secretary of State’s office puts together jury lists based on the census information. Szkaradek adds, with a chuckle, “Don’t blame me if you’re called for jury duty.”
As the keeper of “vital” or public records, the Town Clerk receives genealogy inquiries about family members who lived, married, or died in Acton. “We just had a couple who were looking for ancestors that went back to the 1800s,” Szkaradek says. “I’ve always enjoyed doing those [searches] to look at how they recorded different things back then. For records from the early 1900s or earlier, we have to go through physical books.” Newer records are available electronically through the state system.
The only disruptions in the peaceful office of the Town Clerk have occurred when people have come in to argue about a late fee. “We’re not mean,” says Szkaradek. “We encourage payments to come in on time, but if people say they completely forgot, were out of town, or thought they had done it but hadn’t really, we try to be a little more flexible and extend the late fees an extra week. By the time they leave, they’re happy.”
Any parting words? “I’ve enjoyed my time here, meeting people in town—the residents and the voters,“ she says. “I said to my election workers at the September primary that I’m going to miss all of them. The people who worked with me have been a great group the entire time I’ve been here—they’re my work family.”
But still, Szkaradek is looking forward to retirement. “After thirty years,” she says, “it’s time for me to sit back and enjoy my life.” Said Town Manager Mangiaratti, “We thank her for her service, and wish her the best in retirement.”
Among the duties of the Town Clerk is to administer the oath of office (without a hand on a Bible) to any board or committee members appointed by the Select Board or town manager. So on September 19, Szkaradek herself swore in her successor—Leo Mercado, the Deputy Town Clerk. His term officially began on September 26.
Nancy Knoblock Hunton is a volunteer writer for Acton Exchange, specializing in profiles of people who have made contributions to the community.