THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE will vote next week on an expansive election reform package that includes same-day voter registration, permanent voting by mail, expanded early voting, and provisions to make it easier for incarcerated people to vote to cast their ballots. The package, backed by the Democratic state Senate leaders, includes many reforms that liberal-leaning voting rights activists have been […]
Elections
Posted inThe Download
Look who landed in Roxbury council final
There has been much consternation and reflection since last week’s Boston mayoral preliminary about the failure of any of the three Black candidates to land a spot on the November final election ballot. “One big reason is that voter turnout was anemic,” writes Joyce Ferriabough Bolling, a veteran Black political strategist, in today’s Boston Herald. […]
Posted inPolitics
Look who landed in Roxbury council final
THERE HAS BEEN much consternation and reflection since last week’s Boston mayoral preliminary about the failure of any of the three Black candidates to land a spot on the November final election ballot. “One big reason is that voter turnout was anemic,” writes Joyce Ferriabough Bolling, a veteran Black political strategist, in today’s Boston Herald. […]
Posted inPolitics
Tight battles ahead for mayor in Lawrence, Holyoke
THE RACES FOR MAYOR in Lawrence and Holyoke promise to be close, as voters in the two communities on Tuesday narrowed crowded fields to two finalists who will need to attract votes from losing candidates to win in November. In Lawrence, Kendrys Vasquez, the former City Council president and acting mayor, won 3,704 votes to […]
Posted inThe Download
Races to watch in today’s preliminary elections
Today will be a test of Lowell’s new at-large voting system, the result of a lawsuit about minority representation in government. It will also mark a narrowing of the historic field in North Adams, with four women vying to become the city’s first female mayor. Meanwhile, Lawrence, Holyoke, and Newburyport will all take a first […]
Posted inPolitics
Races to watch in today’s preliminary elections
TODAY WILL BE a test of Lowell’s new at-large voting system, the result of a lawsuit about minority representation in government. It will also mark a narrowing of the historic field in North Adams, with four women vying to become the city’s first female mayor. Meanwhile, Lawrence, Holyoke, and Newburyport will all take a first […]
Posted inPolitics
Incumbent mayors in Framingham, Gloucester face uphill battles
INCUMBENT MAYORS took a drubbing Tuesday night in preliminary elections in Framingham and Gloucester but gathered enough votes to make it into the November final. Yvonne Spicer, the first mayor of Framingham and one of the state’s most prominent Black elected officials, fell far behind long-time selectman and former city councilor Charlie Sisitsky, earning just […]
Posted inOpinion
We should eliminate off-cycle elections in Mass.
FORMER GOVERNOR Deval Patrick once said, “Massachusetts invented America.” For a state that prides itself on shaping American democracy, Massachusetts faces a wicked participation problem. And the current proposed solutions—like making mail-in voting permanent in state elections—do not adequately address our biggest ballot problem. At the local level, where critical decisions are made, turnout is […]
Posted inPolitics
Galvin predicts turnout of 100,000 in Boston
VOTERS IN 15 municipalities go to the polls on Tuesday to hold preliminary elections. While the marquee race is undoubtedly the Boston mayoral contest, campaigns elsewhere in the state are also drawing interest, including several elections for open mayoral seats. “I’m optimistic we’ll have a decent turnout tomorrow,” Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said […]
Posted inThe Download
Boston’s preliminary race for mayor in the homestretch
With Boston’s preliminary election for mayor only hours away, a lot remains up in the air. The one certainty: For the first time in the 199 years since its incorporation as a city, Boston is poised to elect a mayor who is not a white man. Five major candidates are vying in Tuesday’s preliminary election. […]