Who will be the next president of the United States, or at least receive Massachusetts’ 11 electoral votes? Who will make up the state’s congressional delegation in Washington? And how will ballot questions about the right-to-repair law and ranked-choice voting pan out? Voters will decide as they head to the polls, open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Even though most voters in Hampshire County, Holyoke and southern Franklin County will only see a handful of contested races, as well as two ballot questions, local clerks have seen firsthand the excitement a presidential election generates.
In Holyoke, around 6,000 people, representing 22% of registered voters, have cast early ballots, said City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee. She is estimating total turnout will be between 65% and 70%.
With 8,000 mail-in ballots requested, McGee said short lines at polling locations are likely.
“This is mainly due to the fact we will have limited voting booths and will be practicing social distancing, so waiting outside is a possibility,” McGee said.
Even more people have voted early in Amherst, with 49% of voters, or 8,196 of the 16,572 registered to vote, casting ballots so far. That means the town is already approaching the turnout at the last two presidential elections, 68% in 2016 and 69% in 2012.
Acting Town Clerk Sue Audette said 10,194 mail-in and absentee ballots were sent out.
The likelihood is for a slow and steady stream of voters on Election Day, similar to the primary, with the possibility of some lines, she said. “This has taken a village to run, and I’m very grateful for all the help we’ve gotten,” Audette said.
In Hatfield, 68% of voters’ ballots have been processed so far, or 1,884 of 2,765 voters participating, said Town Clerk Lydia Szych.
“We had 80% turnout in 2016. I think this year may be higher,” Szych said, adding that she expects polls to be manageable on Tuesday.
On the national level, most voters will decide between Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence or Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris.
Also on the ballot for president are Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker, running mates for the Green-Rainbow Party, and Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen for the Libertarian Party ticket. Those parties combined for just under 6% of the vote in 2016.
For voters in the 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern of Worcester again faces Republican Tracy Lovvorn of Grafton, whom he defeated with more than two-thirds of the vote in 2018.
In the 1st Congressional District, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of Springfield has no challenger following his primary victory over Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse in September.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Markey of Malden, who has served Massachusetts since 2013, is being challenged by Republican Kevin O’Connor of Dover.
For state Senate, only voters in Easthampton, Southampton and Holyoke, as part of the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District, will decide a contested election, pitting incumbent Democrat John Velis of Westfield against Republican John Cain of Southwick.
Other state senators from the region are running unopposed, including Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District, Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow for the 1st Hampden and Hampshire District, and Sen. Adam Hinds of Pittsfield for the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District.
For the state House of Representatives, the only residents in Hampshire County who will decide contested elections are in Belchertown. There, voters who live in the 2nd Franklin District will choose between incumbent independent State Rep. Susannah Whipps of Athol and Democratic challenger William LaRose, also of Athol, while residents who live in the 7th Hampden District will select either Democrat Jake Oliveira or Republican Chip Harrington, both of Ludlow, to succeed retiring state Rep. Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow.
For the rest of Hampshire County and southern Franklin County, state representatives who initially won their seats in 2018 are running unopposed. They include Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton for the 1st Hampshire District, Dan Carey of Easthampton for the 2nd Hampshire District, Mindy Domb of Amherst for the 3rd Hampshire District, and Natalie Blais of Sunderland for the 1st Franklin District.
Democrat Patricia Duffy of Holyoke is running unopposed for the 5th Hampden District state representative seat previously held by Aaron Vega, who opted not to seek reelection.
Also running unopposed for reelection are Democrats Mary Hurley of East Longmeadow for the Governor’s Council 8th District seat, Michael Carey of Easthampton for Hampshire register of probate and John Merrigan of Greenfield for Franklin register of probate.
But in Hampden County, there is a race for register of probate between Democrat Rosemary Saccomani of Agawam and Independent Lori Landers-Carvalho of East Longmeadow.
Two questions are on every ballot in the state. Question 1, if approved, would provide vehicle owners and independent repair facilities with expanded access to wirelessly transmitted mechanical data for a vehicles’ maintenance and repair, while Question 2 would implement ranked-choice voting, or instant runoff voting, in which voters could order candidates by preference, rather than voting for just one person.
In Carey and Domb’s districts, two nonbinding questions are on the ballot. One, if passed, would instruct the representative to vote in favor of legislation that would require Massachusetts to achieve 100% renewable energy use within the next two decades. The other, which is also on the ballot in Blais’ district, if adopted, would instruct the representative to vote in favor of changes to make the results of all the votes in legislative committees publicly available on the state Legislature’s website.
Easthampton has an addi tional question to reduce the Community Preservation Act surcharge for low-income and senior qualifying residents.
