Most Ballots Have Already Been Cast Before Election Day: Galvin

The majority of ballots expected during the state primary have already been cast through the new expanded voting options, Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday morning. Galvin was making the statements one day before Election Day, when still hundreds of thousands are expected to hit the polls in the more traditional sense.

In all, he expects 1.2-1.3 million votes during an election season marked by the first early voting window for a primary and the expansion of mail-in voting. The usual turnout is about 1 million.

Galvin said some 850,000 ballots have already been received, about 768,000 of them Democratic.

"I think it’s fair to say, based on the numbers I just revealed to you, that the majority of the people who would be participating in tomorrow’s election in fact have voted," he said.

While the early voting window has closed, Galvin was counting on a "significant number" of the 400,000 ballots mailed out to be returned by Tuesday at 8 p.m. If a voter doesn't see their mail-in ballot as being received here or has received a mail-in ballot but not returned it, they are able to vote in person Tuesday.

The early arrival for most ballots doesn't mean getting a headstart on tallying them. No ballots will be counted until the polls close, Galvin said.

Galvin is expecting some 3 million ballots to be cast for the Nov. 3 general election.

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