Boston Voters Cast 62,652 Ballots Before Election Day; Polls Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday

Featured photo: A City of Boston ballot drop box (file photo). Photo: Whoisjohngalt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Boston voters cast 62,652 ballots before Tuesday’s state election, and polls at all 275 precincts open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the City of Boston Election Department said in its final voting reminders on Monday, Nov. 2. This year’s ballot is longer than usual: nine statewide ballot questions printed on three double-sided ballot cards.

For the rest of today’s Boston local news, including traffic and city services on Election Day, see our Boston News hub.

How many Boston voters have already voted

As of Nov. 2, 15,343 residents had voted early in person and 47,309 mail-in and absentee ballots had been returned, for 62,652 ballots in all, the Election Department said. Mail-in and absentee ballots make up about 76% of that early total (TBR calculation: 47,309 ÷ 62,652).

What to know before you go to the polls

• Hours: Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
• Find your polling place: The city’s polling location map lists each precinct’s location. The city also suggests confirming your registration on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s voter registration website.
• Three ballot cards: Feed one card at a time into the tabulator and wait for the screen to show “System Ready” before inserting the next one, including after the third card. The city has posted a step-by-step video.
• Read the questions first: Translations of the nine ballot questions in 16 languages are at boston.gov/ballotquestions. The city advises reviewing them in advance and allowing extra time.
• Access: Every polling location is wheelchair accessible and has an AutoMark voter assist terminal for voters with disabilities. Multilingual poll workers and interpreters are available, and poll workers can connect voters to the city’s free Language Assistance Line.
• Questions: Call 311 on Election Day.

Returning a mail-in ballot

Mail-in and absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at polling places on Election Day. To count, a ballot returned to a city drop box or in person to the Election Department at Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Room 241, must arrive by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and reach the Election Department by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, the city said.

When Boston results will come in

The Election Department plans to publish Central Tabulation results, covering mail-in and early in-person ballots processed at City Hall, between 8 and 9 p.m. Combined results with Election Day ballots will start uploading around 10 p.m. and continue until every precinct is in. Follow statewide races and the ballot questions on our Massachusetts election tracker.

Federal election monitors are also expected at some Boston polling places; we explained what they can and cannot do. For more on the races and how the system works, see how Massachusetts elections work and our Boston politics coverage.

Sources

• City of Boston: City of Boston Shares Final Voting Reminders in Preparation for the November 3 State Election
• City of Boston: Polling locations
• City of Boston: Ballot drop box locations