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

WORCESTER, 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 Worcester on Tuesday, here's what you need to know.

Where to vote in Worcester

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. Here's a map of all of Worcester's polling locations:

Who's on the ballot

For Democrats, the Kennedy-Markey race is at the top of the ticket, followed by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who is running unopposed this year. State Sens. Harriette Chandler and Michael Moore, and Reps. Mary Keefe, Dan Donahue, James O'Day and John Mahoney are all running unopposed this year.

Worcester Democrats will have choices in two down-ballot races.

John Dolan III and Jasia Wennerberg are in a race to be the Democratic nominee for the Worcester County Register of Probate seat currently held by Republican Stephanie Fattman — she's married to Sutton state Sen. Ryan Fattman.

There's also a sort of heated race for the 7th District Governor's Council seat between Democrats Paul DePalo and Padraic Rafferty. The latter has been supported by the Massachusetts Majority PAC, which is affiliated with Gov. Charlie Baker.

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. Tracy Lovvorn, of Grafton, is running unopposed for the chance to face McGovern in November.

Neither the Green Rainbow nor the Libertarian parties are running candidates in 2020.

Markey vs. Kennedy in Worcester

Worcester will likely be a major battleground in the Democratic Senate primary. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Worcester in the Super Tuesday primary this year, while the more moderate Joe Biden won the rest of the state — possibly a glimpse into which direction the Worcester electorate is headed this year.

Markey has also picked up may key endorsements here, including from Mayor Joseph Petty, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and the city's entire Legislative delegation — except for Sen. Harriett Chandler and state Rep. James O'Day.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has picked up District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera, plus more than a dozen other local Latino activists. Kennedy has also made sure to make plenty of campaign stops in Worcester, including last week when he campaigned for 24 straight hours across the state.

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