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

NATICK, 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 Natick on Tuesday, here's what you need to know.

Where to vote in Natick

If you voted absentee, use the Secretary of State's website to track your ballot. In-person voting on Sept. 1 will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Precincts 1, 2, 3 — Natick High School, 15 West St.
• Precincts 4, 5 — Wilson Middle School, 22 Rutledge Road
• Precinct 6 — Lilja School, 41 Bacon St.
• Precinct 7, 9, 10 — Community Senior Center, 117 East Central St.
• Precinct 8 — Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central St.

Who's on the ballot

For Democrats, the Kennedy-Markey race is at the top of the ticket, followed by U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, who is running unopposed this year. Democrats in all precincts will vote in the Linksy-Patel race. Depending on your precinct, Democrats will vote for either state Sen. Karen Spilka or Sen. Rebecca Rausch, both running unopposed.

Both Patel and Linsky have filled out Patch candidate questionnaires, which you can read here:

• David Linsky: MA 2020 Primary Candidate Profile
• Jaymin Patel: MA 2020 Primary Candidate Profile

Republicans also have a U.S. Senate primary race. Shiva Ayyadurai and Kevin O'Connor are running against each other for the chance to face off against either Markey or Kennedy in the November general. Caroline Colarusso is running unopposed for the chance to challenge Clark in the general election.

Be sure to sign up for Patch breaking news alerts to find out about election results as they come in.