BOSTON — Massachusetts voters can go to the polls beginning this weekend to nominate candidates for governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor and a host of other races as early voting gets underway across the state.
From Saturday to Sept. 2, cities and towns will allow registered voters to cast early ballots ahead of the Sept. 6 statewide primary. No excuse or justification is required to cast a ballot ahead of time.
As of Thursday, more than 211,000 primary ballots already had been cast through the mail under a new law that made early and mail voting permanent features of the state’s election system, according to the secretary of state’s office.
More than 4.7 million people are eligible to vote in Massachusetts, elections officials report. The majority, about 55%, are not affiliated with a political party.
Under Massachusetts’ system of open primaries, so-called “un-enrolled” or independent voters can choose a Republican, Democratic or Libertarian ballot.
Registered Democrats can vote only in the Democratic primary, while Republicans can vote only on the GOP ballot.
Key state races
Topping the statewide races is a GOP contest between gubernatorial candidates Geoff Diehl, a former state lawmaker from Whitman, and Chris Doughty, a Wrentham businessman making his first run for office.
Two-term Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito are not seeking reelection this year.
Also on the GOP ticket is Diehl’s running mate for lieutenant governor, former state representative Leah Allen of Danvers, and Doughty’s running mate, Kate Campanale, a former state lawmaker from Spencer.
The winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary will face Democrat Maura Healey, the state’s Attorney General, who is running unopposed on the Sept. 6 ballot.
Another Democrat, state Sen. Sonya Chang-Diaz, D-Jamaica Plain, will still appear on the ballot even though she has dropped out of the race.
Three Democrats, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, and Rep. Tami Gouveia, D-Acton, are seeking the nomination to run for the second-in-command post.
Even though candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in party primaries, winners are typically matched on the general election ballot.
Another contested race is the Democratic primary for the secretary of state’s job, which normally doesn’t attract much attention.
Secretary of State William Galvin, the longest-serving official elected statewide, faces a battle from within his own party from Boston NAACP president Tanisha Sullivan.
Three Democrats are running to replace Healey as attorney general. They are Andrea Campbell, former Boston city councilor, Shannon Liss-Riordan, a labor lawyer and Quentin Palfrey, a former White House advisor. The winner will face Republican Jay McMahon, a Bourne lawyer who previously ran for attorney general.
Two Democrats — Chris Dempsey, a transit activist and former assistant state transportation secretary and state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen — are seeking the party’s nod to challenge Republican Anthony Amore of Winchester for the state auditors post. Amore is running unopposed.
Democrat Suzanne Bump, who has held the auditor’s job for nearly 12 years, isn’t seeking a fourth term.
Closer to home
Meanwhile, two Democrats —state Rep. Paul Tucker, D-Salem, and Attorney James O’Shea of Middleton — are competing for the party’s nomination for the Essex County District Attorney with longtime DA Jonathan Blodgett not seeking re-election. There are no Republican candidates running for the DA’s job.
In another county level race, incumbent Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger, a Democrat first elected in 2016, faces a challenge from fellow Democrat Virginia Leigh, a Lynn social worker who is making her first run for elected office.
There are also a number of contested legislative primaries, with some incumbent lawmakers facing challengers for the first time in years.
Locally, six Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination in the 8th Essex District to replace state Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, who stepped down to take a job as a regional Federal Emergency Management Agency official.
Three Democrats are running for the newly reconfigured 4th Essex House District that was created by lawmakers as part of a recently approved redistricting plan.
On Cape Ann, state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, is facing a challenge from Democrat Nathaniel Mulcahy. Ashley Sullivan, a Gloucester Republican, is running as a write-in candidate on the GOP ballot.
A number of incumbent Democratic lawmakers from the region will be getting a free pass to the Nov. 8 elections after Republicans failed to field challengers.
Early voting has grown increasingly popular in the state since it debuted in the 2016 elections and was expanded during the pandemic. A new state law authorized early and mail voting for federal state and local elections beginning this fall.
Under previous state law, those who wanted to vote through the mail had to provide an excuse to have “absentee” votes counted.
Election officials say it’s not clear that early voting boosts overall turnout, but it certainly gives voters more time to cast ballots and helps avoid the lines on Election Day.
Voters can find sample ballots with the candidates and look up early voting locations and times on the secretary of state’s website: www.VoteInMA.com.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
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