Voter turnout within the midterms exceeded expectations, no less than for Secretary of State Bill Galvin.
“While we, unfortunately, didn’t set a new record this year, I am pleased to report that the overall voter turnout did exceed my own expectations for this election,” Galvin stated Monday in asserting the vote tally.
The newly re-elected Galvin, who heads right into a record-breaking eighth time period, stated earlier than the Nov. 8 normal election he anticipated upwards of two.2 million voters to take part within the midterms. He was fallacious by over 10%, in line with his workplace.
“In terms of total votes cast in a midterm election in Massachusetts, the number is exceeded only by the 2018 State Election, when 2,752,665 voters participated. As a percentage of the number of registered voters in Massachusetts, the voter turnout for the midterm election was 51.4%,” Galvin’s workplace stated in a Monday launch.
Most voters, 1.38 million of them, selected to solid their ballots in particular person on election day, in line with Galvin’s workplace, representing 55.1% of ballots solid. 37.4% of ballots have been solid by mail and seven.5% of voters solid their vote throughout one in all their precinct’s early voting days.
Galvin stated earlier than the midterms that voters didn’t appear to be animated by the slate of candidates supplied to them and that, have been it not for a pair of vital poll questions, he wouldn’t anticipate a lot in the way in which of turnout in any respect.
“I’m delighted to have been wrong,” he stated Monday.
According to Vanessa Snow, coverage and organizing director for MassVOTE, greater than anticipated turnout is nice information, however some voters nonetheless aren’t attending to the polls.
“While we are glad that voter turnout exceeded expectations, the fact that nearly one in two Massachusetts voters did not turn out shows how much work remains to increase turnout across the state,” she stated.
There is an particularly massive hole between communities of various incomes, she stated.
“For instance, in the predominantly white, wealthy suburb of Wellesley, voter turnout reached nearly 70%. But in the more diverse urban community of Chelsea, voter turnout just barely surpassed 30%. To make our elections more equitable, the state must pass pro-voter policies like Election Day Registration, which are proven to increase turnout in traditionally-underrepresented communities” she stated.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”