Early voting gets underway in Mass.
Early voting began Saturday for the November state election, allowing people to cast ballots and help decide contested statewide races and the outcome of four ballot questions.
Registered voters have through Nov. 4 to cast early ballots in person at local polling places, according to the secretary of state’s website. The election is Nov. 8.
A list of locations and times for early voting is available on the state’s election website.
There are roughly 4.8 million people registered to vote in Massachusetts in this year’s election. But early voting so far has been slower compared to the number of people who cast early votes in the 2020 presidential election, according to William Galvin, the secretary of state.
About 1.08 million Massachusetts voters have requested mail-in ballots so far, but just 185,000 had submitted them through Friday, according to Galvin’s office.
That figure falls far short of the 1.2 million voters who had submitted presidential election ballots by the same point two years ago.
Galvin, speaking to reporters Friday, said there seemed to be a “lack of intensity so far in terms of the campaigns” in this year’s state election. But he speculated that voters might be taking time to study the four ballot questions before making decisions.
“We hope that the election, as it grows closer, will grow more interesting to voters,” Galvin said.
Voters may also complete a mail-in ballot. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots is Nov. 1, according to the elections website. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 8, and received by local election officials no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 12.
People may still register to vote in the state election through Oct. 29.
Voters will decide on a successor for Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who did not seek a third term. Three candidates are vying for the position: Attorney
General Maura Healey, a Democrat; Geoff Diehl, a Republican who has served as a state lawmaker; and Libertarian candidate Kevin Reed.
With Healey running for governor, Republican James McMahon and Democrat Andrea Campbell are facing off to fill the position of attorney general.
In the contested race for state treasurer, incumbent Deborah Goldberg, a Democrat is running for a third term against Libertarian Cristina Crawford . There is no Republican candidate on the ballot.
A five-way race has emerged in the campaign to succeed state Auditor Suzanne Bump, who did not run for re-election. Voters will be able to choose among Republican Anthony Amore; Democrat Diana DiZoglio; Gloria Caballero-Roca of the GreenRainbow Party; Dominic Giannone of the Workers Party; and Libertarian Daniel Riek, according to the state elections office.
Galvin is also facing a contested ballot race with Republican Rayla Campbell and GreenRainbow candidate Juan Sanchez. If Galvin prevails, he would be elected to a historic eighth term as the secretary of state.
Voters are also being asked to decide on ballot questions, including Question 1, which would impose an additional 4 percent state tax on annual income in excess of $1 million.
Question 2 is for a measure that would require dental insurance carriers to spend no less than 83 percent of the premiums they collect on patient care.
Question 3 is a proposal to expand the statewide limits on the number of licenses any one retailer could have for the sale of alcoholic beverages for “offpremises consumption.”
Question 4 asks voters if they support issuing state drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. The measure was already approved by state lawmakers earlier this year, who overcame a veto by Baker. But the question will also go before voters after opponents successfully placed it on the ballot.