Primary may draw low turnout

Secretary of State William F. Galvin yesterday said turnout for the Sept. 19 Democratic primary could be low, a situation that could help the candidate with the most passionate supporters.

Yesterday, Galvin predicted that if the election were held today, about 620,000 voters, or less than 20 percent of the total qualified to vote in the Democratic primary, would show up at the polls. Eligible primary voters include both Democratic and unenrolled voters, who together make up about 85 percent of the overall electorate, Galvin said.

``I don't see people forming conga lines in the street to vote," he said, adding he hoped interest would grow as the race nears its climax. ``There's three weeks left, and exciting things can happen."

The deadline to register to vote in the primaries is tomorrow.

A Boston Globe poll published Sunday found the three-way primary race for governor virtually tied, with Deval Patrick appearing to have the most committed supporters. Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly could also benefit from a turnout by stalwart Democrats in cities where mayors and top elected officials are backing him. On the other hand, the lack of a Republican gubernatorial primary this year could draw more unenrolled voters to the Democratic primary, potentially helping Christopher Gabrieli.

Gabrieli held a meeting over the weekend to organize a strong turnout of his supporters. Reilly's campaign seized on the poll to generate excitement among its supporters, telling them in an e-mail: ``A race this close heading into Labor Day means we need to pick up the pace -- now."

Galvin and local election officials said they have seen no last-minute rush to register, nor have they seen early requests for absentee ballots, which Galvin said can be an early indication of voter turnout.

``We haven't had a great deal of activity," said Valerie Mulvey , the town clerk in Framingham, where the total of registered voters is 3.4 percent lower than it was four years ago. Lowell and Worcester have also seen their voting rolls decline by about 4 percent over 2002. But in other areas of the state, voter registration is up a bit. Boston had 266,964 people on the rolls as of last week -- about 6 percent more than in 2002 . Lawrence has nearly 4 percent more registered voters this year than in 2002.

The state will not have official tallies of registered voters available until after tomorrow's registration deadline, but Galvin said his informal survey of election officials last week suggested that the Democratic Party had added about 8,000 voters statewide. There are about 3.9 million registered voters in Massachusetts , Galvin said.

Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party, said it has sent staff members knocking on voters' doors this summer, encouraging people to register as Democrats. ``I would say that the effort has been to get as many new voters as possible, whether that be in a switch of party affiliation or in registering new voters for the first time," she said.