Massachusetts is gearing up for Super Tuesday, and while the winnowed-down candidate pool may have some voters feeling lackluster, advocates and political experts say the consequences of not voting could have a downstream effect on civic democracy.
“It's always important to vote whether we believe the individual act is going to sway an election or not,” said Peter Ubertaccio, vice president of academic affairs and professor of political science at Stonehill College. He said turning out to vote helps keep us “civically fit.”
On Super Tuesday voters will be able to vote for presidential nominees, as well as state party positions.
Massachusetts is one of 15 states, and one U.S. territory, to hold primaries on Super Tuesday. As of Monday at 9 a.m., about 10% of of eligible voters had already cast their ballot. Over 433,000 Massachusetts residents had voted by mail, and over 50,000 voted early in-person. Of those ballots cast, over 323,000 were Democratic, over 155,000 were Republican and nearly 6,000 were Libertarian.
Secretary of State William Galvin predicts that on Super Tuesday, over 600,000 Democratic ballots and 400,000 Republican ballots will be cast by the end of the day.
Galvin said he isn't expecting the level of turnout the state saw in 2020, but that turnout may be "enhanced" by the Monday morning ruling by the Supreme Court to allow former President Donald Trump to remain on the ballot in Colorado. Galvin emphasized that with this decision, it's even more important for voters to take the opportunity to express their opinions by casting a ballot.
"Because clearly, what the court said today was that they will not do anything to decide the outcome of the presidential election," Galvin said at a press conference Monday.
Primary turnout in the state is typically much lower than general elections, but local voting organizations continue to work to grow that number. Marisol Santiago, policy and organizing director of MassVOTE, says the organization has been making phone calls, knocking on doors, hosting events and providing training for volunteers to help spread information on where and how to vote.
“We want folks to be empowered voters,” said Santiago. “We want them to be educated and participating fully in democracy.”
There has been some progress in expanding voter access in the state. Mail-in voting was made permanent in 2022, allowing residents to send in their ballots ahead of election day. In-person early voting was also available to voters last week.
But, Santiago says, there is a lot of policy work that needs to be done to expand that reach. There’s movement around ranked choice voting, same-day voter registration and restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions.
“We have so many people in the state of Massachusetts that are not eligible to vote yet,” she said, referring to felons and immigrants whose status does not permit them to register.
“There's a lot of pressure for voters to select a candidate,” said Shanique Rodriguez, executive director of Massachusetts Voter Table, a civic engagement organization focused on increasing voter engagement in communities of color and low income communities across the state.
And for voters unenthusiastic about the candidate crop, Rodriguez says there are options. “You can go ahead and write in the candidate that you think does represent you that may not be reflected on the ballot," she said. "Or you can go ahead and cast a blank ballot or select no preference.”
The "no preference" choice is a strategy Willie Burnley Jr., Somerville City Councilor At-Large, is encouraging voters to take as part of a grassroots campaign to “signal to the Biden administration that we need an immediate and permanent ceasefire,” he said, referring to the conflict in Gaza.
A similar campaign in Michigan garnered over 100,000 “uncommitted” votes last week.
Burnley sees voting as a “sacred” right, but President Biden's foreign policy has left some people, "a thousand times more excited to vote ‘no preference’ than they are to vote for our current president.”
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Nikki Haley rallied outside Boston over the weekend to drum up Massachusetts voters, hoping enough support can thwart Donald Trump's strong lead in the nomination process. Jennifer Nassour, Massachusetts chair for the Haley campaign, says Haley is hoping to tap into the state's large number of independent voters.
“She's speaking to every voter," said Nassour.
Approximately 63% of Massachusetts voters are not enrolled in a party.
Nassour, a former chair of the Mass GOP, knows that in order for Haley to make a mark, the party needs some of those unenrolled votes.
“People complain in the November elections, in the general election, that there's no one to vote for, which then causes voter apathy,” she said. “So instead of doing that, voters have an opportunity right now. Let your voice be heard.”
