Through Friday, 157,000 Massachusetts voters had mailed their ballots for the November election, a quantity that Secretary of State William Galvin described as “slow” for this level in early voting.
Mail-in ballots started hitting mailboxes two weeks in the past, and to date the secretary of state’s workplace has stuffed a complete 1,071,000 requests to vote by mail.
Early in-person voting began Saturday and each group within the state may have voting cubicles open the following two weekends main as much as Election Day on Nov. 8.
“We hope that the election, as it grows closer, will grow more interesting to voters,” Galvin mentioned at a press convention Friday. “While we’re encouraged by the requests of a million, or in excess of a million, vote-by-mails, there does seem to be a certain lack of intensity so far in terms of the campaigns other than the ballot question campaigns.”
Galvin attributed the gradual turnout partly to the contentious poll questions on this race. Voters is likely to be confused about contradictory statements from the well-funded poll campaigns on referendum questions, he mentioned.
Ads for and towards Question 1, proclaimed the “Fair Share Amendment” by supporters and the “Tax Hike Amendment” by opponents, have dominated the airwaves in current weeks. So far, coalitions have spent greater than $31 million on the query, which might levy an extra 4 % surtax on private earnings that exceeds $1 million in a single 12 months.
Opponents have spent greater than $10.3 million and supporters nearly $21.3 million in line with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
The different poll questions have wracked up giant contributions as effectively, with chain liquor retailer Total Wine & More funding a marketing campaign towards Question 3, which might enable corporations to personal extra alcohol licenses, to the tune of $2.1 million this month. Questions 2 and 4 have additionally generated buzz and {dollars}.
But “lack of intensity” in candidate elections, the place to date polls don’t present shut races for any statewide workplace, and “an absence of marquee races” for the U.S. Congress might contribute to so-far low voter turnout, Galvin mentioned.
Galvin warned voters on Friday that, given gradual mail service, it is likely to be extra dependable to vote early at a voting sales space slightly than by mail at this level within the election season.
He additionally reminded voters that when they solid a mail-in-ballot they could not vote once more on the voting sales space.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”