First coronavirus primary a test of mail-in voting in Massachusetts

The state primary on Tuesday with a possible record turnout was an unprecedented early test of mail-in voting and could be an example for how to handle the balloting when millions more people vote in November.

If it turns out there are problems with the ballots — if some people could not vote or others tried to vote more than once — then mail-in voting in November could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Nearly 1 million people mailed in their ballots before Tuesday — the most that’s ever happened in voting history in Massachusetts.

State election officials, led by Secretary of State William Galvin, were prepared for the big influx of early voters.

“It’s been a very challenging election, because of the fact we had all these various options for voters to participate, but I think it speaks to the commitment of the voters that they have participated and the importance of the election cycle,” Galvin said.

But even despite that, turnout in many precincts around the state on Tuesday was high, with many waiting in line to cast their ballots in person. The threat of the coronavirus did not appear to deter many people — especially older voters — from going to the polls on Tuesday.

The fact that there was a Kennedy on the ballot was an additional factor that drove people to the polls — either to support him or oppose him.

The marquee race statewide was the Senate battle featuring U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, grandson of RFK, against Democratic incumbent Ed Markey.

But there were also key local races, like the 4th congressional district fight to succeed Kennedy featuring seven Democratic candidates, that kept election officials busy.

There was even a major fight brewing in western Massachusetts between Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of Springfield and challenger Alex Morse, the mayor of Holyoke.

All those factors led to a potentially record turnout of voters for a primary in Massachusetts.

One thing’s for sure — no one can complain this year that it was too hard to vote. But they probably will anyway.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3jAy6rx