In past years Elections Commissioner Diane Colella would be basing her prediction for an Election Day turnout on her years of experience and personal gauging of the interest in the Revere community.
But with mail-in voting and absentee balloting on the upswing, Colella already knows that many ballots will be cast in the Sept. 1 primary.
Also propelling a surge of local voter interest is the hotly contested race for the Sixteenth Suffolk District state representative seat. Councillor-at-Large Jessica Giannino and Joe Gravellese have been waging highly visible and well-organized campaigns over the past several months for the seat that is currently held by retiring State Rep. RoseLee Vincent. The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic Primary will proceed to the Nov. 3 General Election. Revere resident Philip Russo is running a write-in campaign in the Republican Primary.
The Democratic Primary featuring U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and Congressman Joe Kennedy has also been a barnburner, with both candidates visiting Revere on many occasions during the campaign.
Colella said the Revere Election Department received 5,441 vote-by-mail applications and that 2,396 ballots have been received. The department also processed 386 absentee ballots of which 286 ballots have been returned.
The polls will open at 7 a.m. on Election Day (Please see page 11 for poll locations).
Colella indicated that there are still positions available for poll workers. Interested residents may contact Commissioner Colella at 781-286-8200, extension 1.
