What Early Voting Could Mean for Massachusetts Voter Turnout

Early voting has been politicized and stigmatized, and it's starting in Massachusetts for the first time this year.

The first test for Massachusetts' early voting system begins next month, when voters can first begin turning in ballots ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.

In Massachusetts, voters can cast their ballot in-person up to 11 days before Election Day.

Read More: What to know about Early Voting in Massachusetts

ProPublica took a look at some of the criticisms against early voting, and then did a run-down of the studies on different forms of early voting, including the in-person approach soon-to-be deployed in the Bay State.

Patch has broken down those findings a bit below:

Turnout

ProPublica cites a Brennan Center for Justice report that showed slightly increasing participation in early voting programs in high-turnout states, with 14 percent of voters utilizing the option in 2012, compared with 13 percent in 2008 and 8.4 percent in 2004.

But is overall turnout higher? There's no consensus there, ProPublica reports, although it points to one study out of Wisconsin that suggests the answer could be no.

Demographics

With early voting, ProPublica says some studies show increased African American turnout, but notes that that could be contingent to whether those states allow weekend early voting, facilitating "Souls to Polls" church-sponsored voting pushes. One Florida study showed African Americans were more likely to cast in-person absentee ballots than white voters. An Ohio study backs that up.

>>> Read the full story from ProPublica. <<<

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