Today marks the last day voters can cast their ballot early in person in Massachusetts during an election season that's been rife with twists and turns.
All polling places will be open on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. (or earlier) to 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots need to be postmarked by the same date.
The state allowed early voting for the first time in 2016, but since then, town clerks say it’s been a popular way for voters to have their voices heard.
“We have been very busy,” said Mary Maslowski, Yarmouth town clerk. “We were just shy of 4,000 [people] in 2020 with in-person early voting. So we're … slightly behind, but close to what we were.”
In Yarmouth this year, 200 residents on average have taken advantage of early voting each day, Maslowski said. In Mashpee, it’s been even higher.
“We've been doing about 250 a day,” said Town Clerk Deborah Kaye. “[That’s] people walking in. We’re still getting vote-by-mail ballots, too.”
Many local voters said they voted early because they were eager to skip the lines — and dodge any illnesses — on Nov. 5.
“It’s the best thing since sliced bread,” Maryann Kulpa said of early voting in Harwich. She said she was feeling anxious about the outcome of the election.
“So it’s over. I voted,” she said tearfully. “I came in early because there’s so much cold and flu going around that if I got sick I would be horrified if I didn’t vote.”
Local Democrats cite abortion, immigration, ‘stability’ motivating vote for Harris
Kulpa said her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris was guided by concerns about how former president Donald Trump could undermine access to safe, legal abortions across the county.
“I come from the era of women actually using coat hangers,” she said. “So it’s top of the list.”
In Barnstable, Carol Chandler, 65, went to the polls early with her son. She said the word to describe this election season is “scary.”
“Our country’s divided,” she said. “It’s very stressful. This is probably the most stressful election in my lifetime.”
Chandler said she, too, cast her ballot against Trump.
“It's particularly painful for me to hear the kinds of things he says about immigrants and refugees,” she said. “I think immigrants and refugees have built this country and continue to.”
For Ray Rahmberg, in Harwich, a vote against Trump was a vote against “craziness.”
“The first Trump presidency was — it seemed like every day there was some chaos or something going on. And we just want stability and normalcy in the presidency,” he said with a chuckle.
But not all Cape Codders were pulling for Harris to become the next U.S. president.
Opinions vary: Cape Codders also voice support for Trump
In Barnstable, Walter Murray, 80, said he was proud to vote against the Harris campaign.
“I’m a patriot,” he said after casting his ballot. “The last four years of the last people in charge guided my vote to go opposite of whatever they did.”
In Barnstable, Julie Fagin said her vote was guided by concerns about the economy.
“Prices on everything are too high. Groceries, gas – although that's coming down a little,” she said, “heating fuel, electricity, everything.”
Voters are also faced with decisions about contested local races, the Cape and Islands state Senate seat, congressional races, and five ballot questions — six for Barnstable County voters. In Harwich, Kelly Oloughlin said she was eager to vote on the ballot questions.
“I read all the questions,” she said. “I've been really studying some stuff that was of concern for me, especially Question 2 about the MCAS. I've got some kids in school that that would be affected by and I've got a lot of teacher friends.”
But no matter how or when people vote, Oloughlin said — everyone should head to the polls.
“I've always told my kids, ‘If you don't vote, you can't complain,’” she said with a laugh. “And you never know, right? Every vote counts.” Local election officials agreed.
Local officials try to address election integrity questions
“Don't be afraid to vote. Just come out and vote, whether it's by mail, in-person, early or on Election Day. You need to vote. Just vote,” said Mashpee Town Clerk Deb Kaye.
Town clerks and other officials have heard a number of concerns about election integrity from voters. “We don't deliberately go out of our way to do things like we're being accused of. So it is,” Kaye paused, “it is something we just deal with.”
In Yarmouth, Town Clerk Mary Maslowski said she hopes people will trust their local election officials this year, despite what they may have heard.
“With a lot of the disinformation and a lot of the accusations of voter fraud that occur across the country,” she said, “if you look at the actual numbers of voter fraud, the numbers prove that it's significantly less than what the perception is out there.“
She said she wants to assure voters that they’re handling ballots with the utmost care, and the system protects against anyone filling in multiple ballots.
“Even if we send out a second ballot to a voter, we are never going to be able to count more than one ballot per voter because of the way our system is set up and because of the way the checks and balances work,” she said.
Officials are urging voters who have received a mail-in ballot this election but haven't sent it in yet to hand-deliver their ballot to their local election office, or drop it in a designated drop box. The nearest one to individual voters can be found at www.ballotbox.info.
Voters who received a mail-in ballot can also vote in person on Election Day if they haven't submitted their ballot, or if it hasn't arrived yet at their local election office, or if their ballot has been rejected.
Voters can check the status of mail-in ballot on the website of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to return their ballots.
