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Some towns see strong interest in absentee ballots for Senate race

E-mail|Link|Comments () January 15, 2010 05:52 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

It's a busy day for some local election officials around the state as voters, in a last-minute rush, apply for and cast absentee ballots.

Worcester City Clerk David Rushford said he believed that, when all is said and done, about 1,800 absentee ballots would be cast, a record number for a non-presidential election in his city.

"We have had a line down the hallway on the second floor of City Hall for most of the day and right now it's beginning to subside," he said shortly after 4 p.m.

Marlborough City Clerk Lisa Thomas also reported an extremely busy day. "Our normal is about 500 to 600 absentee ballots. We've more than doubled that," she said. It's been crazy, absolutely crazy."

Secretary of State William F. Galvin said that, as of noon, 101,903 absentee ballots had been requested statewide.

He said that not all cities and towns were seeing the same amount of interest in absentee ballots.

"The pattern of places where activity is highest seems to be exurbia and towns as opposed to cities," he said.

"There's clearly energy in some communities," particularly in towns where there are a significant number of independent voters and where Republican candidates have done better than they have in the state as a whole, he said.

But he warned that it was still difficult to predict turnout from the absentee ballots. The interest in absentee ballots might reflect the level of voter motivation, but they also might reflect retirees who are heading to Florida, people who are concerned about driving conditions on Tuesday, and people who are considering their long holiday weekend into Tuesday.