With the clock ticking on the final countdown to Election Day, local clerks on the “front lines” of this year’s historic presidential election said they’re ready for the final push, but warned voters races could change as they take several days to finalize results.
“We’re doing everything we can to afford people the opportunity to vote and our goal is to make sure every vote is counted,” said Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo.
Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has said he expects most votes to be counted on Tuesday. But final tallies will take longer. As of Saturday, 273,253 mail-in ballots had not been received by local election officials, according to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day on Nov. 3 and that arrive by Friday can still be counted — a major change from past elections.
“I don’t expect it to dramatically sway the presidential election here in Massachusetts, but it could have somewhat of an impact on the down-ballot races — especially our state rep race, which is hotly contested,” Hanover Town Clerk Harder-Bernier said
Mail-in ballots received by Tuesday will be included in initial vote tallies. Voters who requested ballots but did not return them may opt to vote in-person on Tuesday instead. As of Saturday, 47% of the state’s 4.7 million registered voters had cast their ballots, election officials said.
In Boston where there are still more than 35,000 outstanding mail-in ballots, Election Commissioner Eneida Tavares cautioned voters to keep this in mind when reviewing initial results. Most Massachusetts communities are expected to hold counting sessions between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, according to state election officials.
“Election results are always unofficial (on Election Day) — this is not the first time … but this time around we could receive a number of ballots well after the election that are still valid and still have to be added to the total,” Tavares said. Tavares said she’s still expecting a big turnout on Election Day as barely 36% of the city’s 430,000 registered voters have participated so far.
Final certification of Massachusetts’ election results won’t come until up to 15 days after local election officials transmit certified results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division.
That means a lingering finish in an election year that has required a “Herculean” effort from local election officials, said Crispo, who also serves as president of the Massachusetts City Clerks’ Association.
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo looks through the processed ballot envelopes during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Election officials use Poll Pads to scan ballots during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Kim Trillcott separates early ballots by their wards and precincts during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo looks through the processed ballot envelopes during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Trina O'Connell time stamps ballots during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo looks through the processed ballot envelopes during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Quincy City Clerk Nicole Crispo looks through the processed ballot envelopes during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Trina O'Connell time stamps ballots during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Cindy Ohlson uses a Poll Pad to scan ballots during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: The Official Ballot Drop Box outside of City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
QUINCY, MA: October 31, 2020: Eileen Devane, left, and Kim Trillcott separate early ballots by their wards and precincts during early ballot counting at City Hall in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Ballots are stacked and ready to be counted as volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Eneida Tavares, Boston Elections Commissioner, carries a box of ballots as volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers, including Christine Zanella(L), sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Eneida Tavares, Boston Elections Commissioner watches as volunteer Christine Zanella(R), grabs a stack of ballots to sort and count at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers, including Christine Zanella, sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
BOSTON MA. OCTOBER 28: Volunteers, including Christine Zanella, sort and count ballots at Boston City Hall on October 28, 2020 in Boston, MA. ( Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
-
BOSTON, MA. - OCTOBER 26: A voter drops her ballot into a Ballot Dropbox in front of City Hall on October 26, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
-
Mail-in voting saw a massive expansion in July when lawmakers passed enabling legislation to keep voters safe amid the pandemic. Early in-person voting was also expanded from one to two weeks.
“This has been my version of being on the front lines during the pandemic,” Harder-Bernier said.
Massachusetts’ electoral system has survived mail-in and two weeks of early in-person voting largely unscathed so far, even as stories of violence and voter suppression have erupted at polls in other states. In one high-profile incident in Boston last week, 35 ballots were destroyed when a man allegedly torched a ballot dropbox.
Tavares said “a good number” of the damaged ballots have been recast.
Crispo said she’s heard of “very few” complaints from voters. The most common complaint is issues with tracking mail-in ballots, most of which she said get resolved on their own.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/34Ni74Z
Post a Comment