Galvin Urges Massachusetts Voters to Hand-Deliver Primary Ballots

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin urged voters to stop using the U.S. Postal Service to return mail-in ballots for the September 1 primary election. Galvin stated it is now too late to ensure the mail will deliver ballots by the 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline, advising voters to instead use official drop boxes or hand-deliver them to city and town election offices.

Early voting data showed a significant surge in participation. While initial reports indicated over 400,000 early ballots had been cast, updated figures as of Thursday showed more than 680,000 of the state's 4.8 million registered voters had already participated via mail or early in-person voting. Galvin expects a total turnout of approximately 1.08 million ballots, noting that high interest in a competitive Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District and a Republican gubernatorial primary is driving the numbers.

To ensure election integrity, the United States Department of Justice will deploy election monitors to polling locations in Boston and New Bedford. Polls will be open this Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and any ballots not in the possession of local officials by the closing time will not be counted.