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Early voting is about to begin in the Massachusetts state primary — with a first
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TGIF! While the Democratic National Convention wrapped up last night, our local election season begins this weekend. Tomorrow is both the first day of early voting — and the last day to register to vote — in the Massachusetts state primary on Sept. 3.
WBUR’s Dan Guzman talked to Secretary of the Commonwealth, current acting governor and perennial dark prince Bill Galvin about what’s new this year. (Make sure to read all the way to the end of the newsletter for a special guest appearance!)
Weekend warriors: For the first time, every Massachusetts city and town is required to offer in-person early voting this weekend. “In previous election cycles, while we’ve had early voting, communities were not mandated to open on the weekends in the primaries,” Galvin said. Now, no matter where you live, you’re guaranteed to have an early primary voting location open on Saturday or Sunday (or both).
- Zoom in: Your exact weekend early voting hours may vary. For example, while Boston has 10 early voting locations open for eight hours on both Saturday and Sunday, tiny Gosnold’s town hall will be open for just two hours each day. You can look up your community’s early voting hours with this search tool.
- Zoom out: In-person early voting hasn’t been the most popular in past primaries. In 2022, 4.6% of voters chose this option, compared to 45.6% who voted by mail and 49.7% who voted in person on primary day. But according to Galvin, weekend hours will “maximize” residents’ opportunities to participate. “Weekends are often when people have more time,” he said. “In fact, in some communities, they actually hold municipal elections on Saturday.”
- Meanwhile: Galvin says voting by mail continues to prove popular — among both parties — with 300,000 Democratic ballots and a relatively “impressive” 60,000 Republican ballots returned so far.
- Go deeper: Read our full Massachusetts state primary guide for more on voting and the handful of competitive races on the ballot.
Meanwhile in Chicago: Before Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president last night at the DNC, she got an emphatic endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts senator was visibly emotional, wiping away tears as delegates gave her a massive ovation before she began her speech.
- Massachusetts Gov. (and Malört fan) Maura Healey also took to the DNC stage yesterday — and included a basketball anecdote in her speech (on brand). Rep. Katherine Clark used her three minutes to focus on child care.
- More: 5 takeaways from Harris’ historic acceptance speech.
Closing time: Another Massachusetts prison is set to close. The state announced yesterday it will shutter the minimum-security men’s prison in Bridgewater — known as Old Colony Correctional Center — due to its low inmate population and the millions of dollars needed to run it.
- Zoom in: The 70 people currently at the prison, which was built to hold up to 160, will be transferred to other facilities by Oct 31.
- Zoom out: It’s the third prison to close since June 2023, amid a long decline in the Massachusetts prison population — from over 11,000 incarcerated in 2014 to just over 6,000 at the start of this year.
Take two? The MBTA Board of Directors has approved a new plan for the big Riverside development at the end of the Green Line’s D branch, after the project was put on hold due to rising costs in 2022.
- The plan is broken into two phases. The first will include housing only — specifically, 545 units — plus parking for the T. The second phase will add offices and lab space, plus another 100 housing units. (The plan still needs approval from Newton officials.)
- In other T news: The agency is soft launching its new low-income fare program ahead of its Sept. 4 start. T officials invited several thousand riders already enrolled in its Youth Pass reduced-fare program to enroll this week; so far, about 150 have signed up.
New England’s largest ski resort is getting new owners. The ski resort company Powdr is selling Vermont’s Killington Resort — as well as nearby Pico Mountain — to a group of local investors. Killington says the move to local ownership will “allow us to be even more responsive to the needs and desires of our community and guests.”
- FYI: Killington and Pico will remain on the Ikon ski pass.
P.S.— A life-sized ___ has been built in Massachusetts in honor of this toy’s 35th birthday. Do you know what it is? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week’s stories.
