The top headline of the 2024 general election is the nationwide contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. While that high-profile race may not be called quickly, we do expect some statewide results to start rolling in shortly after polls close.

Here in Massachusetts, people cast their votes for who should represent them in the U.S. Senate and on Beacon Hill, as well as have their say on statewide ballot questions, including whether to increase the tipped wage and if the MCAS should remain a requirement for high school graduation.

GBH News reporters are in the field to share live updates on Election Day.

9 a.m., Nov. 5

Ballot measure campaigning in East Boston

Five people holding green-and-white signs with the words yes on 3 and driving Massachusetts forward.
Volunteers with the Yes on 3 campaign, which advocates for a law that would allow rideshare drivers to unionize, gather outside of East Boston High School on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.
Kwadjo Otoo GBH News

Outside a polling place at East Boston High School, Regina Brown-Ross was holding signs for the Yes on 3 campaign. The ballot measure would create a pathway for Uber and Lyft drivers to form a union.

“They’re trying to improve their wages and their pay, as everyone wants to do,” Brown-Ross said. “All five questions are essential.” — Paris Alston, reporter

Read up on Massachusetts’ ballot questions

8:45 a.m. Nov. 5

The Massachusetts students voting in their home swing states

They may live in Massachusetts, but they’re voting in the states that will decide the 2024 election: College students from swing states aren’t messing around when it comes to making their voices heard today.

Rachel Hogan, a Northeastern student from Pennsylvania, is voting for president for the first time. “It’s been a really unique experience to live in a blue state like Massachusetts where there are several people that I’ve met that maybe aren’t going to vote because they’re from a consistently blue state, whereas I have had the opportunity to influence the election with my vote,” Hogan told GBH News.

Liz Benecchi, a senior at Harvard College, is from Georgia and recently flew home for the weekend to vote early. After seeing Joe Biden win Georgia by just under 12,000 votes in 2020, Benecchi, who is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, said it could come down to the wire again. “Every vote — even though people don’t think it matters — every vote literally matters,” Benecchi said. — Alexi Cohan, digital producer

8 a.m. Nov. 5

Presidential race, MCAS drive voters in Dorchester’s Florian Hall

At Florian Hall in Dorchester’s Ward 16, at least 50 people had already come through the polls in the first hour.

Dennis Ryan said he came “to vote for Donald Trump.”

“Because of immigration, number one. The validity of the ballot box is very important,” Ryan said. “But most of all freedom of speech. That is the number one issue that I’m coming out for today, Absolutely. Trump, what he’s had to put up with is appalling in a republic. So the nation’s fate is in our hands today.”

He also said he was there to vote No on Question 2 to preserve the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement.

Katherine Parker came to vote with her dog, Pippa.

“This is, I believe the most important election of, my lifetime, our lifetime,” Parker said. “I have family members who are in the military and I appreciate everything that they’ve done so that I can be here today.” — Paris Alston, reporter

7 a.m. Nov. 5

Polls are now open

As the clock strikes 7 a.m., the polls are officially open.

One-third of Massachusetts voters have already done their civic duty by voting early or by mail, according to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office. The highest pre-Election Day turnout came in the Cape Cod towns of Eastham and Orleans, with 56% of voters already submitting their votes.

The state’s largest cities, which typically see more voters on Election Day, saw a smaller share of voters hit the ballot boxes before Tuesday: 23% of voters returned their ballots before Tuesday in Boston and Worcester, along with 13% of voters in Springfield, 36% in Cambridge, and 16% in Lowell.

Polls close at 8 p.m. across Massachusetts, so if you haven’t cast your ballot yet, you have 13 hours to get to a polling place.

For anyone looking to turn in a mail-in ballot, Secretary of State Bill Galvin is “strongly recommending” that you drop it off in person at a drop box or election office rather than send it by mail so that it gets counted. — Hannah Reale and Gal Tziperman Lotan

4 a.m. Nov. 5

It’s Election Day!

Election Day is here, and poll sites across the commonwealth are opening in just a few hours. But make no mistake — over a third of Massachusetts’ five million registered voters have already cast their ballots.

Massachusetts’ top election official Bill Galvin is expecting record turnout driven by the presidential race.

GBH News has plenty of guides on what to know for Election Day, including details on the five statewide ballot questions that voters get to approve or deny. — Hannah Reale