West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain could get to vote twice in November

The City Council will vote tomorrow on setting Nov. 16 as the special election to replace outgoing Councilor John Tobin, after city and state elections officials said attempting to hold the election as the same day as the already scheduled state elections would cause the planet to implode or something.

City Council President Mike Ross filed the request for dates today. Because of differing city and state elections rules (for example, related to who is eligible to vote), holding the special election on the same day would have meant separate ballots, separate check-ins and separate vote-tallying boxes, and could have meant people in wheelchairs might not be able to maneuver around all the extra stuff in some already cramped precincts.

In addition to the separate final election, the city will also hold a runoff preliminary on Oct. 19 in Tobin's District 6 if needed.

Tobin is resigning to become "the city councilor from Northeastern."