Time To Vote, Marlborough: What To Expect On Primary Day

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Tuesday's Massachusetts primary election will be one for the history books.

Sure, there are plenty of interesting races, most notably the big Democratic contest between U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III. But more notably, it will be the first primary election in Massachusetts to take place during a pandemic in about 100 years.

If you're heading to the polls, you'll be one of the few. Secretary of State William Galvin on Monday reported that about 850,000 had already voted by absentee ballot. About 1.3 million people usually vote in a September primary, which means the election has largely already taken place.

Galvin also said a large chunk of the expected remaining 400,000 votes will come on primary day. If many of those are cast through the mail, it's possible the election could change over the rest of the week — not typical for a state that's accustomed to tallying votes cast at polls on a single day.

(And if you're voting absentee on Tuesday, you have to turn your ballot in by 8 p.m. for it to count.)

In other states that vote by mail, elections can take longer to wrap up as mailed ballots arrive in waves. In Washington state, which has largely been voting entirely by mail since about 2005, elections aren't typically solidified until the Friday after an election held on a Tuesday. And, late returns tend to favor more left-leaning candidates.

Over the summer, some other U.S. states have held primaries largely by mail for the first time due to the pandemic. Some of those states, like Colorado and Alabama, have seen much higher turnout compared to other years — although it's unclear if that's entirely due to the more convenient vote-by-mail option.

In Massachusetts, some voters may be nervous about voting absentee by mail (although many towns and cities have set up drop boxes to collect ballots) due to recent issues surrounding the U.S. Postal Service. Less than 30 percent of respondents to an informal survey of Patch Massachusetts readers said they would trust the USPS with their ballots.

If you're heading to the polls in Marlborough on Tuesday, here's what you need to know.

Where to vote in Marlborough

If you voted absentee, use the Secretary of State's website to track your ballot

. In-person voting Sept. 1 will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at these locations:

• Ward 1, 2, all precincts: Francis J. Kane School, 520 Farm Road
• Ward 3, 4, all precincts: Senior Center, 40 New St.
• Ward 3, precinct 2: Raymond Richer School, 80 Foley Road
• Ward 5, all precincts: Masonic Lodge, 8 Newton St.
• Ward 6, all precincts: Whitcomb School, 25 Union St.
• Ward 7, all precincts: Hildreth School, 85 Sawin St.

Who's on the ballot

For Democrats, the Kennedy-Markey race is at the top of the ticket, followed by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, who is running unopposed this year. Depending on which state House district you live in, Democrats will see slightly different ballots:

4th Middlesex District

• 3rd District Governor's Council — Marilyn Petitto Devaney (unopposed)
• State Senate — James Eldridge (unopposed)
• State House — Danielle Gregoire (i), Jeanne Cahill (click names for candidate profiles)
• Middlesex County Register of Probate — Tara DeCristofaro (unopposed)

13th Middlesex District

• 3rd District Governor's Council — Marilyn Petitto Devaney (unopposed)
• State Senate — James Eldridge (unopposed)
• State House — Carmine Gentile (unopposed)
• Middlesex County Register of Probate — Tara DeCristofaro (unopposed)

Marlborough Republicans will only have two races to vote in, and one is unopposed.

Republicans Shiva Ayyadurai and Kevin O'Connor are vying for the chance to face off against either Markey or Kennedy in the November general election. Sudbury resident Ingrid Centurion is running unopposed to challenge Gentile in the general.

Neither the Green Rainbow nor the Libertarian parties have candidates running in the primary.

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