Melrose Primary Election Day Preview: Where To Vote, Candidates

MELROSE, MA — Early in-person voting is complete and Election Day is upon us in Melrose for this year's state primary.

Voting on Tuesday will wrap up the first election in Massachusetts to feature the state's brand-new, pandemic-tested voting system. The state legislature passed the VOTES Act in June, making mail-in voting a permanent feature of elections in Massachusetts. The law also expanded early voting to all state primaries and general elections going forward.

That means thousands of votes have already been cast before primary day this week.

In the primary election, voters will only see candidates for their party's ballot. While there are no contested state legislature or governor's council primaries this year in Melrose, both Democratic and Republican voters will have a chance to weigh in on a number of contested statewide races.

On the Democratic side, that includes a now two-way race for the nomination to be Attorney General. Once a three-person primary, that contest is now down to former Boston city councilor Andrea Campbell and labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan.

Quintin Palfrey will also appear on the ballot, though he recently announced his decision to drop out of the race.

There are also contested Democratic races for Auditor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State. Democratic voters will still have two names on the ballot in the governor's race, though State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz dropped out of the race earlier this year, leaving current Attorney General Maura Healey running unopposed.

On the Republican ballot, there are contested races for Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Geoff Diehl is facing Chris Doughty in the governor's race while Leah Allen faces Kate Campanale in the Lieutenant Governor's race.

Patch has put together a 2022 Massachusetts primary voting guide to get you primed and ready to vote. Here's everything you need to know:

Where To Vote

All in-person voting on Election Day will take place at the Melrose Middle School gymnasium at 360 Lynn Fells Parkway. The entrance to the gym is located at 90 Melrose Street.

Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Who's On The Ballot?

DEMOCRATS

Attorney General

• Andrea Campbell
• Shannon Liss-Riordan
• Quentin Palfrey (dropped out, but still on ballot)

Auditor

• Christopher Dempsey
• Diana DiZoglio

Governor

• Sonia Chang-Diaz (dropped out, but still on ballot)
• Maura Healey

Lieutenant Governor

• Kim Driscoll
• Tami Gouveia
• Eric Lesser

Secretary of State

• William Galvin
• Tanisha Sullivan

REPUBLICANS
Governor

• Geoff Diehl
• Chris Doughty

Lieutenant Governor

• Leah Allen
• Kate Campanale

Voting by mail

Massachusetts briefly joined a handful of other U.S. states in allowing voting by mail during the pandemic. Then the Legislature let the practice expire. Then they brought it back in June after passing a big, new voting rights bill.

The state has improved the vote by mail materials since the pandemic, but the process is largely the same: once you get your ballot, you fill it out at home with a black pen and then return it to be counted.

The Election Office must receive vote by mail primary ballots by the close of polls on Tuesday at 8 p.m. As a result, voters using the vote by mail option for this election should not mail their ballots at this point, as the postal service may not be able to deliver them in time.

Melrose has a ballot drop box available between City Hall and the Melrose Post Office where voters can drop off their vote by mail ballots.