Voter Turnout Appears On Track To Break Records

I spoke with Mass. Secretary of State Bill Galvin about 4:15 p.m. to get a sense of the turnout statewide. He says turnout has been heavy throughout the day and throughout the state, and it looks as if his prediction of more than three million voters will hold up.

In Boston alone, 110,000 voters had cast their ballots by noontime, compared to 93,000 four years ago.

As for the polling problems in Cambridge, Galvin told me the problem was generated by the Cambridge Election Commission when they had problems with their list.

Representatives of Galvin's office were dispatched to Cambridge to rectify the problem. The list has since been corrected, and Galvin says the few people who were affected can be confident their vote will count.

Galvin acknowledged there have been long lines, but they haven't been too bad, saying: "We had lines this morning, when we had people going to work, and trying to work before they did. We perhaps will have lines this evening.

"But throughout much of the area, as the day progressed, the lines diminished.  All the polling places were busy, but there were not long delays." Anyone who is in line when the polls close at 8:00 p.m. will still be allowed to vote.

Galvin has overseen Massachusetts' elections for about 20 years. He says this year, there's a sense of excitement, as well as a sense of importance.

He added that people recognize the crossroads the country is at, and cognizant of the financial problems of the country, so therefore view voting as a significant choice that affects them personally.

Related story: Massachusetts Voters Turn Out In Big Numbers