Early voting begins today on Martha’s Vineyard in the run-up to the much-watched Super Tuesday presidential primary day next week. Polling will be held in every Island town running through Friday.
Early voting for the presidential primary election begins on Monday and town clerks around the Island report an increase in voter registration ahead of the closely watched race.
The Vineyard voted in line with the rest of the commonwealth Tuesday, backing Democratic U.S. Cong. Edward Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez, a former naval special warfare lieutenant commander, in the state primary to replace Sen. John Kerry, who resigned in January to become secretary of state.
Town clerks reported relatively low turnout, around 19.5 per cent Islandwide, with slightly higher turnout in Chilmark and Tisbury, which also held town elections. The two town elections featured no contested races but several ballot questions related to spending, all of which passed.
In what has become a fiercely contested primary battle, Vineyarders rushed to register last week in time to vote in the Massachusetts Democratic and Republican primary elections, scheduled for “Super Duper,” “Tsunami,” or even “Destiny” Tuesday, Feb. 5.
That day will feature the biggest one-day collection of state primaries and caucuses ever held in the United States.
