Voters across the Island will head to the polls with hand sanitizer and face masks Tuesday for the Massachusetts state primary, where closely contested races for the state’s junior senate seat nomination top both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
The primary will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 1, with polling stations open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every Island town.
Town clerks said despite the lack of contested races, voter registration has increased since recent annual town elections. And town clerks added they’ve noticed a deluge of mail-in ballot requests compared to years past, as the pandemic recasts even the most time-worn democratic processes and the upcoming November presidential election looms large over the Island electorate.
At the top of the Democratic ballot, one-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Ed Markey is facing an unusual, but closely-watched primary challenge from Rep. Joe Kennedy 3rd. The race is one of the country’s only competitive primary challenges for a sitting Democratic senator.
Mr. Markey, 74, has represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate since 2013, and prior to that was a congressman for four decades. Mr. Kennedy, 39, currently serves as representative for the state’s 4th district in the House of Representatives, a job he has also held since 2013.
Recent polls suggest it will be a close race.
Also on the Democratic primary ballot are state Sen. Julian Cyr, a Cape and Islands incumbent running unopposed for re-election, and Rep. Dylan Fernandes, a Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket district candidate who is also unopposed. Cong. Bill Keating is also running unopposed for his seat representing the ninth district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On the other side of the aisle, the Republican primary ballot will see candidates Shiva Ayyadurai and Kevin J. O’Connor vying for the nomination. The winner will face off against either Mr. Kennedy or Mr. Markey in the November general election. Mr. Ayyadurai holds a Ph.D. from MIT with a background in computer science and biological engineering. Mr. Shiva ran as an independent for the U.S. Senate seat in 2018. Mr. O’Connor, an attorney and former executive committee member at the Boston Bar Association, will mount his first senatorial campaign this year. Helen Brady is running unopposed for the Republican nomination to challenge Congressman Keating.
Beyond Senate and state legislature races, the Sept. 1 ballot will see an eight-way race for seven seats on the Dukes County Commission. But one of the candidates, Hunter Moorman of West Tisbury, has dropped out of the race and is requesting, via paid newspaper advertisements and letters, that voters not cast ballots for him.
The county commission is the legislative body of county government, and among other things is responsible for making appointments to the Steamship Authority board, the airport commission and the Dukes County regional housing authority.
The commissioners are elected every two years; according to the county charter no Island town can have more than two representatives. This year all seven seats are up for re-election. The election will see six incumbents running, including Donald Leopold of Chilmark, who assumed commissioner John Alley’s seat following his death this year. Richard Wharton of Oak Bluffs is the lone newcomer. Daphne Devries is running unopposed for register of probate, Joseph C. Ferreira is running unopposed for councilor and Ann M. Metcalf is running unopposed for county treasurer. New registration for in-person voting for the primary ended on August 22, ushering in a week of early voting that will conclude August 28.
This year, voters who wish to cast ballots before election day will have the option to do so in person at their local polling sites until the end of the day on August 28, or by mail before Sept. 1. Those voting by mail can send ballots to their local election offices through the postal service, or deliver them by hand to drop boxes and on-site attendants at local town halls. The deadline to apply to vote by mail closed August 26. Voter registration for the primary has seen a modest increase in most towns this year — a typical trend for presidential election years, according to town clerks.
In Tisbury, a total of 3,619 voters are currently registered; in Oak Bluffs the total is 3,978; in Edgartown there are 3,925 voters registered; in West Tisbury 2,612 are registered; in Chilmark the total is 1,014; and in Aquinnah, an even 400 voters are registered.
Oak Bluffs town clerk Colleen Morris attributed the registration uptick in part to the influx of people who have relocated to the Island since the pandemic began. “‘I’m wondering had there not been a pandemic, I don’t know what percentage of people would have decided to stay,” she said.
More significantly, this year has seen heightened requests for early and mail-in ballots, with ongoing fears over virus exposure pushing voters to avoid the polls on election day, clerks believed. The most significant increase across the board has been for mail-in ballot requests, said Tisbury town clerk J. Hillary Conklin. Ms. Conklin reported that since early voting began in the town, she has received over 800 ballots by mail — more than double the number of absentee ballots received in the 2016 presidential election. On the other hand, as of Tuesday, the town recorded fewer than 100 in-person early voters, a sharp decline from the 753 people who voted early in 2016.
In Edgartown, town clerk Karen Medeiros reported a similar trend, with 780 of the town’s current 3,925 voters opting to vote before Sept. 1 and 700 requesting to vote by mail. In Oak Bluffs, the town has received 368 mail-in ballots compared with only 110 in-person early voters.
Recent concerns over the speed and security of the United States Postal Service have also propelled more voters to deliver their mail-in ballots in person, said Ms. Conklin. New this year, mail-in ballots can be dropped off at drop boxes and service windows in local town halls.
In Tisbury, the town is requesting that all drop-offs be made in person through the town hall service window, while in West Tisbury and Edgartown drop-off is available via dropbox.
A handful of Island towns have also instituted what they are calling advance ballot processing, where they open, unfold and store early ballots to be processed on election day.
“Advance ballot processing is our effort to efficiently manage the large volume of early voting/absentee ballots received, reduce the number of poll workers required on election day and allow in-person voters on election day to move through the polls in the most expedient manner possible, for the safety of all,” Ms. Conklin wrote in a statement on the town website.
Advance ballot processing is confirmed for Tisbury, Edgartown and Chilmark. The process of envelope unsealing will be open to observers.
Polling places by town are as follows:
Tisbury, emergency services facility; Oak Bluffs, town library; Edgartown, town hall; West Tisbury, behind the public safety building in the apparatus bay; Up-Island; Chilmark, community center; Aquinnah, town hall.
All voters casting ballots in person will be required to wear masks and maintain six-foot social distancing measures. Further information about specific polling sites is available on the town clerk page of each town website.
Comments
Comment policy »