Thousands of Springfield residents request ballots ahead of early voting in the state primary

SPRINGFIELD — Early voting is still a relatively new method of exercising the right to vote in Massachusetts. The first election in which residents could choose to cast their ballots early instead of on Election Day was in 2016. A 2014 state law made early voting a mandatory option for all municipalities, be it in person or voting by mail. The state does not differentiate between absentee and vote-by-mail ballots.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, in the 2022 state primary, 45.6% of those who voted did so by mail, while 4.6% used in-person early voting to cast their ballots. Just under half of voters, 49.7%, came out on election day. During the general election that year, 55.2% of those voting chose to do so traditionally. Vote-by-mail users dropped to 37.3% and 7.5% of voters came in person to vote early.
In Springfield, a city of 154,064 residents, 118,023 are registered to vote. City Clerk Gladys Oyola said, “Vote by mail is by far the more popular method of early voting. We have mailed 10,685 ballots for the Sept. 3 primary as of [Aug. 14]. We typically have less than 1,000 voters that turn out in-person to vote early.”

Applications to vote by mail must be received by the Springfield Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on Aug. 26. All vote-by-mail applications must be signed. Applications can be signed by hand or electronically. Typed names will not be accepted as signatures. Vote-by-mail applications can be emailed to elections@springfieldcityhall.com, faxed to 413-787-6186 or mailed to Springfield Board of Elections, 36 Court Street — Room 8, Springfield, MA 01103.

Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Springfield Board of Elections no later than Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. They can be mailed or deposited in the drop box at the rear of City Hall, which is locked and under 24-hour video surveillance.

Oyola did not find that vote-by-mail ballots cause a great delay in counting votes. “The return of votes is usually done 11 p.m. on election night depending on the write-in ballots,” she said, referring to votes for handwritten additions to the ballot.

There is substantial procedure and security involved in voting, whether it be in person or by mail, early or on Election Day. “Like all cities and towns in Massachusetts we adhere to the state and federal election laws,” Oyola said. “Ballots are delivered in a secure carrier and election staff deliver Vote-by-mail ballots in teams of two. All poll workers attend a mandatory training and are sworn in. We deploy the election commissioners to monitor the polling locations citywide. Additionally, a police officer is stationed at each polling site.”

Early voting in the state primary runs from Aug. 24-30. For those who want to vote in person, Springfield’s early voting schedule is below:

City Hall, 36 Court St., Room 8