MA State Primaries: What You Need to Know

State primary day is this Thursday, Sept. 8. As you'll read, in Massachusetts the state primary is a pretty good indicator of what to expect in the Nov. 8 general election. Here's some things to know:

Patch with have local election results as they are revealed. Subscribe to your local Patch for the latest and come back after the polls close at 8 p.m.

What are the state primaries?

During state primaries, voters choose nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives, the state Senate and House, the Governor’s Council and county sheriff.

Those races are then decided in the general election. That election is held Tuesday, Nov. 8. The deadline to register for the general election is Wednesday, Oct. 19.

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• RELATED: The Ballot Questions for Massachusetts in November

Why does it matter in Massachusetts?

Democrats hold a vast majority of the seats in the Massachusetts Legislature. Of the 160 seats in the House of Representatives, 125 are filled by Democrats, 34 by Republicans and one is vacant. Nine of the 160 incumbents are not running for re-election, according to ballotpedia.org.

But it's not just about the party — because Democrats hold such a strong majority and often face little general election challenge, the primaries are often where the winning candidate is effectively decided. A large amount of the races are uncontested.

Who's running?

You must vote on the party's ballot of which you are registered to vote for. Un-enrolled voters can choose a party's ballot. Click here to see the ballot you can vote on, the candidates you can choose between and where to vote.

When do you vote?

• Most polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, but some locations may vary. Each poll must be open for at least 13 hours.
• Absentee ballots can be requested up until Wednesday, Sept. 7, at noon. Absentee ballots must be returned Thursday, Sept. 8, by 8 p.m. Click here to download the application form for an absentee ballot.
• The last day to register to vote for state primaries was Aug. 19. Click here to check your registration status.

Image via Shutterstock

Alison Bauter, Patch staff, contributed to this report.