Woburn Election 2021: Turnout Less Than 25 Percent

WOBURN, MA — Fewer than one in four of Woburn's eligible voters cast ballots in the city's municipal election Tuesday, according to an unofficial vote count provided by the city clerk's office Wednesday.

Of the city's 27,268 eligible voters, 6,695 unofficial ballots were tallied, or 24.6 percent.

The count is just 30 more voters than in 2019, when 6,665 official ballots were tallied. In the 2020 presidential election, over 22,000 Woburnites voted.

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Only a small percentage of the voters took advantage of alternative voting methods. There were 110 absentee ballots cast, 389 in-person early votes and 71 early votes by mail.

Together, those methods accounted for 8.5 percent of ballots cast.

The low-turnout election mostly resulted in a smooth night for the city's incumbents. Scott Galvin cruised to a seventh term as Woburn mayor with nearly two-thirds of the vote. All five incumbent School Committee members were re-elected, as were Ward 1 City Councilor Joanne Campbell and Ward 4 Councilor Joseph Demers.

>>Woburn 2021 Election Results: Galvin Wins Seventh Term

The exception to the incumbent sweep was in Ward 7. Charles Viola, a correctional officer with the Middlesex Sheriff's Office, defeated Ward 7 City Councilor Michael Lannan. Lannan was appointed to the seat by City Council in April, after 50 ballots. Viola had also applied for the appointment.

Ward 7 also saw the most voters of any ward, with 1,207 ballots cast. The second highest-turnout ward was Ward 3, where Councilor Jeff Dillon ran unopposed.

In the open Ward 6 race, just 726 voters turned out. Lou DiMambro, who works in construction, defeated Kerstin JD Lochrie with over 60 percent of the vote.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.