Massachusetts voters on both sides express worry, unease over the future, on Super Tuesday

Voters in Massachusetts hit the polls on a slightly soggy Tuesday to cast their ballots in the state's presidential primaries. The commonwealth is one of 15 states and a U.S. territory voting this Super Tuesday, the busiest day of the 2024 presidential primary season.

Across the political spectrum, the mood seemed nearly as bleak as the weather, and voters at the polls expressed unease about the future. In Townsend, northwest of Boston, resident Carol Smith said she voted for Republican Nikki Haley because she's more moderate than former President Donald Trump. "I think she's reasonable," said Smith, an independent. "I can't do Trump and Biden, can't do it."

She also lamented the partisan divide in the state and country — a common concern among voters interviewed Tuesday.

"I'm just very nervous about where we're going," Smith said. "They just go with their party now, and they're not going with reason any more. That bothers me."

President Biden and former President Donald Trump are expected to emerge victorious after the polls close. Both candidates have dominated their primary or caucus contests so far. Haley won Washington D.C.'s primary over the weekend and has pledged to stay in the race through Super Tuesday. It's unclear what she'll do if she doesn't prevail in some of today's contests.

John Giardina, a 72-year-old independent in Townsend, said he was voting Republican for the first time in his life in order to pull a ballot for Haley. "It's the only way to try to push Trump out of there," he said. "I'd rather see her than Trump."

Giardana said he's tired of the partisan bitterness he sees, but he's also lost faith in Democrats. "I'm sick of the government giving all my money away," he said.

"We've got to close the borders," he added, noting Trump recently swayed Congress to kill a bipartisan immigration bill Giardina would have expected Republicans to support. "I'm sick of the political stuff. I want to see them start working for the country. I'm 72 years old. I mean, I'm afraid of my future."

A number of Biden voters said they were happy with the job he and his team are doing. In Roxbury, Myetia Vaughan, a preschool teacher and entrepreneur, said she voted for the president because there was no one else running "that can give me a bit of evidence that they can do the job better than he can." She said she is most concerned about economic justice and efforts at reparations.

Fellow Roxbury voter Sage Weikel also voted for Biden; he said he's concerned about democracy and worries about the outcome of the election.

" It's all up in the air. That's why I'm here," he said. "Massachusetts is blue, right? But you know, you never know."

Immigration was a frequent issue cited by Republican voters, along with the economy.

In Groton, Republican voter Carrie Kneeland said she was supporting Trump because of concerns about foreign oil and immigration. She also is a believer in Trump's unfounded claims that he won the last election.

"I have been with the Godly leaders from the beginning, that also protect life, even the unborn," she said.

Marjorie McEvoy voted Tuesday at Florian Hall in Dorchester. She said she cast a vote for Trump because she's concerned about higher prices, particularly at the grocery store, and about border security.

"I have empathy for these immigrants, but the cost is prohibitive," she said, referring to the influx of migrants coming to Massachusetts in recent months in need of housing assistance. As for inflation, McEvoy cited the cost of butter and meat. "If you're a family with children, I don't know how they survive," she said. She hopes that if Trump were president again, he could keep prices down.

As of late afternoon, the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office said there had been no major issues at polling places. WBUR learned that early morning voters in North Cambridge arrived to find there were not Republican ballots available, due to a "packing issue." Voters had to wait about a half hour for a rush delivery of GOP ballots.

More than 479,000 Bay Staters had already submitted their ballots by mail ahead of Election Day, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Another 51,000 residents voted early in-person. Polls in the state opened Tuesday in many municipalities at 7 a.m. and were slated to close at 8 p.m.

In primaries, political parties award candidates a number of delegates based on their performance at the polls. Candidates need a certain number of delegates to win their party's nomination. (Here's an interactive map of primary results across the U.S., as well as the latest tally of delegates.)

Ahead of Massachusetts' primaries, Secretary of State Bill Galvin said he expected a "reasonably good" turnout, but noted that with few challengers keeping either of the races competitive, turnout would likely be far lower than for the last presidential primary in 2020.

In a presidential primary, "it very much depends upon the circumstances of the race," Galvin told reporters at a press conference Monday, ahead of the election. "On the Democratic side, four years ago, we had a very active race, very uncertain race, and we had a record turnout — well over 1.4 million."

More than 362,000 Democratic votes were cast early, according to totals from Galvin's office. He said Monday he expected Democratic turnout to ultimately exceed 600,000.

Galvin's office tallied more than 171,000 Republican ballots cast early as of Tuesday. In the Monday press conference, Galvin called early turnout among GOP primary voters "impressive" considering there are far fewer Republican party members in the state than Democrats. He predicted more than 400,000 voters would end up casting ballots in the Republican primary. As of Tuesday morning, more than 6,400 Libertarians had voted early.

While Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson also appeared on the Democratic ballot for president, Biden's main competition in Massachusetts is perhaps a "no preference" box. The "no preference" campaign is being led by pro-Palestinian activists, looking to voice their anger over the deaths of 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October. The effort follows a similar movement in Michigan that garnered more than 100,000 "uncommitted" votes, prompting a high-level Biden campaign staffer to say "He's received that message many, many times."

In Townsend, a voter named Gina said she voted for Biden in the last election but voted "no preference" Tuesday, in protest of the administration's handling of the war in Gaza. She asked that her last name be withheld out of fear discussing her vote might affect her employment.

"What's going on is an atrocity, and that is literally, the decision I made today was based on that," Gina said. At the same time, as a member of the LGBTQ community, she said, "Everything that Trump was standing for four years ago, and is still standing for now, would directly impact my life in a way that is negative."

If enough voters select "no preference," a delegate may be assigned to that option, Galvin said. The Massachusetts Democratic Party awards delegates proportionally, but any ballot option would need at least 15% of the vote to receive delegates.

Questions around whether Trump's name should appear on ballots in some states were resolved this week with a unanimous Supreme Court decision restoring Trump's name on the primary ballot in Colorado, where voting also was underway Tuesday. Maine also reversed a previous decision to keep Trump off the primary ballot following the high court's ruling.

The court's ruling "makes it all the more important that those voters who have opinions on the presidency take the opportunity to express them," Galvin said Monday.

Down the ballot, races for state and municipal party committee are gaining attention in Massachusetts. That's particularly the case within the GOP race, where committee races have strong implications for the future leadership of the state Republican Party. While committee positions are not governing roles, those who win them help shape party messaging and goals.

Last year, Amy Carnevale, a lobbyist from Marblehead, became the Republican Party chair, beating incumbent chair and Trump ally Jim Lyons by three votes. This year's elections will decide whether supporters of Carnevale or Lyons makeup the majority within the party.

With additional reporting from WBUR's Newscast Unit