Elections officials say a stronger than expected turnout in this week’s Massachusetts Presidential primary bodes well for November’s general election.
More than 97,000 Springfield residents — about 25 percent of those registered — cast ballots on Tuesday, much to the surprise of election commissioner Gladys Oyola.
“There’s very few times that I’d like to be wrong, but this is one of those cases,” says Oyola, who notes turnout exceeded her initial projection of just 15 percent.
“I can kind of gauge what the interest is going to be by how many people request ballots ahead of time. In this instance, I think, we saw more people actually walking to the polls and vote,” says Oyola.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Bill Galvin says more than 631,000 voters across Massachusetts cast Republican ballots, setting an all-time high. However, the overall number of Bay state voters fell short of the record set in the 2008 presidential primary.
