Last week of early voting: hours in all four Cape Ann towns, and mail ballot requests are due Tuesday

Early voting for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, state election enters its last week. All four Cape Ann towns have in person hours through Thursday, and three of them are open Friday, according to the city and town clerks' pages. The deadline to ask for a vote by mail ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Early voting hours this week

• Gloucester: Monday through Wednesday, Oct. 26 to 28, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. See the city clerk's election notice or call 978-325-5120.
• Rockport: Sunday, Oct. 25, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 28 and 29, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. See the town's elections page.
• Essex: At Town Hall, 30 Martin St., Monday through Thursday, Oct. 26 to 29, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday is the last day; there are no Friday hours. See the town clerk's page or call 978-768-7111.
• Manchester-by-the-Sea: At Town Hall, Monday through Wednesday, Oct. 26 to 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to noon. See the town's elections page.

Vote by mail

• Request deadline: Tuesday, Oct. 27. Gloucester, Rockport and Manchester list 5 p.m.
• Returning a ballot in person or by drop box: it must reach the clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots cannot be dropped off at a polling place, Gloucester's notice says. Gloucester's drop box is at the Warren Street entrance to City Hall, and Essex's is outside the entrance to Town Hall.
• Returning a ballot by mail: Rockport's page says a ballot mailed from inside the United States counts if it is postmarked by Election Day and arrives by 5 p.m. on the third day after the election, which is Friday, Nov. 6.
• Check your ballot: the state's Track My Ballot tool shows when a ballot was mailed, returned and accepted. You can find it on the Secretary of the Commonwealth's elections page.

In Gloucester, voters who will be away on Election Day, or cannot go to the polls for medical or religious reasons, can vote absentee in person at the City Clerk's office until noon Monday, Nov. 2.

Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Essex votes at the Public Safety Building, 11 John Wise Ave., and Manchester at Memorial School. Gloucester and Rockport voters can look up their precinct's polling place on the state's elections page.

Rockport's page also lists two public notices: testing of the voting tabulators Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m., and advance removal of early ballots from their envelopes Friday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m.

Earlier coverage: Saturday, Oct. 24, is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 3 state election (Oct. 23), the registration deadline and the first week of hours; Voting in Gloucester on Nov. 3: two ballot cards, the 150 foot rule and how write ins count (Oct. 24), the city clerk's rules for Election Day.