Elections in Natick this year have been unlike any previous ones for the town, culminating with the Nov. 3 Presidential election that saw nearly 90% of registered voters cast ballots. Anticipating that most voters would cast ballots early, by mail or in person, required the Town Clerk’s office to organize, staff up, and take other actions to handle the deluge. The team worked around the clock leading up the the Nov. 3 election, with 12-14 hour days not unusual.

That effort didn’t cost nothing, and fortunately for the town it was able to score a nearly $15,000 grant from an outfit called the Center for Tech and Civic Life. That organization bestowed grants upon more than 2,500 jurisdictions to help fund election administration.

What’s especially interesting about the Center is that Dr. Pricilla Chan and her Facebook CEO husband Mark Zuckerberg contributed $350 million to support the cause. This is outlined in an APM Reports story headlined “How Private Money From Facebook’s CEO Saved The 2020 Election”

We noticed that Natick was on the map included in the story and asked Natick Town Clerk Diane Packer what the money was used for.

“I am using the money to help defray the large increase in costs (primarily labor and postage) related to the large increase in mail in ballots and to acquire the ballot box which is located outside at Town Hall,” she said.

The process for applying for the grant proved easy, Packer said. She credited the Mass Town Clerks Association for sharing a lot of the information on the opportunity.

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