Absentee voters flock to cast their ballots

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Local election officials reported brisk business today at their counters -- and sometimes even lines snaking out the doors -- as people around the state applied for and cast absentee ballots.

“We have a record number of people applying, receiving and voting absentee,” said David J. Rushford, the Worcester city clerk. “I think it’s no secret that this election will make history. ... I don’t think many people want to miss being part of that historic activity.”

Rushford said the previous record for people applying for absentee ballots was about 3,200. “We’ve now exceeded 4,000, and we have a line of people in our hallway,” he said.

People can vote by absentee ballot if they can’t make it to the polls Tuesday because they will be out of town during the voting hours, because they are physically disabled, or because of religious beliefs. The ballots can be mailed in or they can be submitted right at the counter after an application has been filled out. Ballots can be submitted at the counter up to noon on Monday; ballots sent by mail from within the United States must be received by Tuesday.

“It’s as busy as I’ve ever seen it,” said Craig A.J. Manseau, election commissioner in Newton. He said he was sure the numbers were record-breaking but he couldn’t be more specific because his office was “just crazy” with work.

Gerry Cuddyer, chairwoman of the election commissioners in Boston, also said the number of people seeking absentee ballots was recordbreaking, with 13,917 applications by today.

The numbers are being driven in part by intense interest in the presidential election, Cuddyer said. But they’re also being driven by people’s busy lives and by an interest in early voting, which is allowed in some other states and has recently been in the news, she speculated.

“I think it shows that people are looking at alternatives to the system that we currently have in place,” she said.

In Marlborough, City Clerk Lisa Thomas said, business was steady, with the lines sometimes going out the door of her small office into the hallway.

“People are coming in in droves,” she said. “People are coming out of the woodwork to vote.”

As of Thursday, 221,687 absentee ballots had been requested statewide, said secretary of state’s spokesman Brian McNiff. He said that number was higher than 2004, but records weren’t available to determine if it was an all-time record.

The secretary of state’s office said Thursday that a record number of Massachusetts residents had registered to vote.

The office said 4,220,488 people were registered by an Oct. 15 deadline, compared with 4,098,634 in 2004, the year the previous record was set. That's about a 3 percent increase.

Secretary of State William F. Galvin said he also expected a record number of residents, more than 3 million, to cast ballots.

Voters, in addition to selecting a president, will also select a US senator, all 10 congressmen, governor's councilors, state lawmakers, and certain county officials. They will also decide on ballot questions that propose to abolish the state income tax, decriminalize marijuana, and ban dog racing.

Polls across the state will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

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