Fewer Bay State voters casting early & mail-in ballots this election

One week before the 2024 presidential election, fewer Massachusetts voters are making their voices known.

Daily statistical updates shared by the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office show that as of Tuesday evening, voters had cast almost 1.3 million ballots either by mail or in-person.

Boston 25 went back through its archives to find data from 2020. Turnout was significantly higher four years ago. The state logged more than 1.8 million early votes one week before the 2020 presidential election.

A spokesperson for the state’s elections department said COVID was a major factor in the 2020 early turnout. Massachusetts temporarily expanded mail-in and early voting options during the pandemic to help voters avoid long lines and crowds at polling locations on election day. The response led to record-setting early returns. Almost 40% of registered Bay State voters had cast a ballot by one week before the election.

Former Republican governor Charlie Baker later signed legislation in 2022 making the changes permanent.

This year, data shows only 25% of registered voters have cast a ballot so far.  However, officials say they still expect strong turnout.  More than five million people are currently registered to vote in Massachusetts, the most ever and an increase of almost 250,000 voters from the 2020 election.

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