Voting in a pandemic: Key dates and reminders for Mass. voters

BOSTON — Election 2020 has presented voters with more options than ever before, necessary options as we all navigate voting in a presidential election during a pandemic.

With all those options, we saw record turnout during the Massachusetts primary, where 1.7 million people participated, four times as many people who voted in 2016.

Now the presidential election is upon us, and voting rights groups expect another record-setter.

“I think that it just makes clear that when you reduce barriers to political participation and make voting a little bit easier, people do turn out,” said Kristina Mensik, the system director at Common Cause Massachusetts.

Mensik told Boston 25 News Anchor Kerry Kavanaugh she believes the more options led to higher turnout, which she says is a good thing.

But there was some confusion at the polls during the primary. So, there are some important reminders about dates and the varying voter options.

First, you can still register to vote in the commonwealth. The deadline to register to vote in Massachusetts is October 24th.

You can vote, in person, right now. Massachusetts Early voting began October 17th and runs through the 30th. There are weekend times and locations in all cities and towns. Dates and hours vary based on where you live; you can find more information here.

You don’t have assigned precincts in early voting.

Next, you can still request a mail-in ballot. The deadline to request one is October 28th.

But because we are so close to the election, you really need to be mindful of the calendar here. Your mail-in ballot has to be postmarked by 8 p.m., November 3. it must be received by 5 p.m., Friday, November 6.

“The USPS advises allocating at least a week to send in a mail ballot, we are urging voters to send their ballot in as early as possible, really, as soon as they get it," said Mensik.

But at this point. Mensik says the best bet is to deliver a mail-in ballot to your local elections' office or a ballot drop box. More of those drop boxes have been added since the primary.

To avoid confusion at the polls on election day, if you requested mail-in ballot, and didn’t use it, you can vote in person.

“Voters retain the right to cast a ballot in person, as long as their mail ballot has not been processed yet,” Mensik said. You can bring it with you to the poll so it can be spoiled, but, Mensik says, you are not required to.

And remember you can track your mail-in ballot. In fact, Common Cause says you absolutely should track it. You can find out how to track it here.

Be prepared to wait for results. Common Cause says it could be Friday before we have election results here in Massachusetts.

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