Mass. voters make their voices heard and brace for election results

Voters have been flocking to the polls Tuesday across Massachusetts, weighing in on a high-stakes presidential election and making their voices heard on a U.S. Senate race and several ballot questions.

Election officials are predicting a record turnout, surpassing the nearly 3.7 million voters who went to the polls in 2020. Even before in-person voting started, the secretary of state reported more than 33% of the electorate had cast ballots in early voting or by mail. Officials anticipate more than 70% of voters will cast ballots overall. Polls close at 8 p.m.

At the top of the ticket, a razor-thin contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will make history, regardless of the outcome.

If Harris wins, she will become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to take the Oval Office. If Trump wins, he will be the first convicted felon to do so, and only the second president ever to serve non-consecutive terms.

There was palpable excitement and nervousness among voters at the polls Tuesday, and strongly held views across the political spectrum.

Josh Lewin of Revere, the 39-year-old owner of the Juliet restaurant in Somerville, said he was there to vote "Yes" on raising wages for tipped workers and to support the vice president: "Kamala Harris all the way. We don't need to go back to 2016," he said.

By contrast, in central Massachusetts, Alan Stone, 72, said he voted for Trump because he believes his policies will be better for the economy and will lower food prices.

"You need somebody that's in there that's running the United States like a business," the Northborough resident said.

In the other federal race on the ballot, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for a third term against Republican challenger John Deaton. While Warren is well known as a power-player in her party, voters are less familiar with Deaton, a lawyer and cryptocurrency advocate who has been campaigning on an up-from-his-bootstraps story. A late September WBUR/CommonWealth Beacon poll found nearly half of voters hadn't heard of the political newcomer.

All Bay State voters can weigh in on five statewide ballot questions that have drawn broad attention. Topics include high school graduation requirements, whether to raise wages for tipped workers and the legalization of therapeutic psychedelics.

Technically, all nine congressional representatives from Massachusetts — all Democrats — are up for election; however, only two face contests with Republican candidates. Two others will compete with independent challengers.

Massachusetts also is home to the least competitive state legislative election in the country.

At busy Leominster City Hall on Election Day morning, Don Jones, 78, said he'd voted in presidential elections since 1968 and was voting for Trump, in hopes the former president will address “financial” matters.

“I have a big oil bill, I want to bring that down to something reasonable,” said Jones, who said he is a Vietnam War veteran. “I want to see increased wages rather than people slipping into poverty.”

Forty-six-year-old Edwin Maldonado, a bilingual Latino man, stood outside City Hall after voting in English in this year’s presidential election. He’s lived in Leominster for more than 30 years, described the city as diverse and said he’s glad polling locations offer Spanish-language ballots in addition to English.

“I appreciate the fact that it gives you both options. My mom, as well, she’s [of] Latino descent, and I’m glad it’s there for her to understand as well and give her the option,” he said.

More than 14% of Leominster residents are Spanish speakers — nearly double the statewide average of 8.8%. The city’s seven polling locations are required to provide ballots in Spanish. Across the state, more than a dozen other communities must do the same.

It is also one of eight cities and towns in Massachusetts the U.S. Department of Justice will monitor on Election Day to ensure compliance with federal voter access laws. The Justice Department will also observe polling locations in Everett, Fitchburg, Lowell, Malden, Methuen, Quincy and Salem.

Jen Gahan, 37, brought her two children with her to their Waltham polling place. Her children, who had no school due to the election, got "I voted" stickers with their names written on them in Sharpie.

“It's a huge election and [I] definitely wanted to bring the kids out,” Gahan said, adding that she "wanted to make sure that they see it and that they see the process and that they learn a little bit about it and that I vote to protect their future.”

Gahan voted for Harris and said the presidential election was top of mind. But she was also motivated by her mother, a service industry worker, to vote on Question 5.

The ballot question asks whether to raise the minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers. Gahan said she voted "no" against raising the wage, after conversations with restaurant workers and bartenders.

“From the big to the small, [there’s] a lot of important stuff on the ballot today,” she said.

Like many voters, Emily Shell, 42, of Roxbury, expressed anxiety surrounding the election.

“I kind of didn't want this day to come but, you know, it had to come,” Shell said. “It feels like the stakes are so high on so many levels."

Shell said this is the most important election she has ever voted in. She feels that issues like women’s rights, climate and immigration protections are on the ballot. She voted for Harris, in part for the future she wants for her two children. Shell said her daughter is 6, "and I want her to live in a world with a female president.”

Phil Kuszpa, 71, said he cast his ballot for Kamala Harris in Shrewsbury. He said he voted Republican all his life, but hasn't since 2016.

“I believe primarily Republicans do a better job running the country, but not since Trump got in,” Kuszpa said. “It actually frightens me a little bit. I think the rhetoric might turn into action afterwards. I'm really concerned about that.”

He said a vote for Harris is also a "great opportunity to get a strong woman in power."

Laila Franklin of East Boston said she decided at the last minute to vote for the Socialism and Liberation party candidate for president because she wants to see more done to end the war in Gaza. She said she's confident Harris will win in Massachusetts, so she could "do a heart vote" and not worry she would tip the scales in the election outcome.

As a career food service worker, Franklin said, "I'm also really passionate about women's rights and workers' rights."

Anyone in line at polling places before 8 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to stay in line and wait to vote. Massachusetts voters typically do not have to show identification unless they're in certain situations, like voting for the first time in the state or if they're on an inactive voter list.

For those who voted by mail, use the state's Track My Ballot tool to ensure your ballot was received. Ballots received by Nov. 8 will be counted as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 5.

If your ballot was not accepted or hasn't arrived to election officials yet, you can still run down to your assigned polling location to vote on Election Day. If your mail-in ballot reaches your local election office after you vote in person, the mail-in ballot will be discarded, officials say.

With reporting from WBUR's Katie Cole, Lisa Creamer, Deborah Becker, Walter Wuthmann, Simón Rios and Miriam Wasser.