Town Clerk Expects Low Turnout at Polls Tuesday

Residents of the Commonwealth will head to the polls Tuesday for a Senate special election. North Reading residents can vote at St. Theresa's Parish between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Town Clerk Barbara Stats expects a slow day at the polls.

"We are anticipating that it will be a low volume turnout," she said.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin is concerned about the turnout across the state given the low number of absentee ballots requested, according to myfoxboston.com. 

Only 49,748 absentee ballots have been requested for the upcoming election, which is a smaller number than the 63,610 absentee ballots that were requested one week before the Senate special election held in January of 2010, myfoxboston.com said.

Stats said she wouldn't use the word concerned as Galvin did, but is anticipating a slow day.

"It is what it is," she said.

Both Republican Gabriel Gomez and Democrat Ed Markey are in the race for the Senate seat once held by John Kerry.