The Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee announced that it would cancel its caucus leading up to the May 20 Annual Town Election.

As noted in recent coverage, despite a Special Town Meeting vote last November to end the town caucus nominating process and stop listing party affiliation on town election ballots, state Rep. James Arena-DeRosa indicated the rule won’t officially go into effect until confirmation from the state Legislature, which could take “over a year.”

At Thursday’s Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee (HDTC) business meeting, members decided to cancel “so that candidates and voters may focus on the issues rather than on the caucus,” according to a statement from HDTC chair Amy Groves.

This means candidates will be required to collect signatures from residents in order to appear on the ballot. The deadline to submit nomination papers to Town Hall is April 1.