Massachusetts residents may have voted in record-setting numbers for last night’s election as pollsters projected turnout to surpass the record 2.4 million voters in the 1990 gubernatorial election between former Boston University President John Silber and winner former Gov. Bill Weld.
“I feel reasonably confident we will break that,” said Avi Green, executive director of MASSVotes, adding that he found Boston’s turnout impressive.
“In Boston in 2002, you had 153,000 voters,” Green said. “Back in 1990, [Boston] had about 159,000 [voters]. At 3 p.m. today, 87,000 had already voted,” Green said. “Usually half of the people who vote will have voted by then. It’s possible we may have 160,000 to 175,000 voters . . . That would be enormous.”
Aside from the gubernatorial election, Massachusetts residents turned out in record numbers to vote on several controversial issues, including Massachusetts Ballot Question No. 1. The referendum failed, preventing supermarkets and small convenience stores to sell wine.
By the time the polls closed at Myles Standish Hall, 642 people voted and pollsters reported a significant student turnout. At 111 Cummington St. – the other voting station on BU’s campus – 125 people cast votes by the time the polls closed.
Green also attributed the high turnout to the weather, which remained clear throughout most of the day.
“[There is a] certain number of people who will vote no matter what, and a certain other number who won’t vote no matter what,” he said. “There’s a group of people in the middle who vote sometimes. If it’s pouring or snowing when it’s time to go and vote, they may say, ‘Forget it, I’m not going to do it.'”