On Tuesday, Bostonians from the second and 13th Suffolk State Representative Districts will vote in special primary elections to fill the vacancies left in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by Mayor Marty Walsh and his Corporation Counsel, Eugene O’Flaherty.
Both the mayor and his constituent cabinet member resigned from their Beacon Hill positions in order to take up their new assignments in City Hall. Their departures left voids underneath the State Houses’s iconic gilded dome which are to be filled with special elections immediately. If you live in areas the mayor or O’Flaherty once represented, there are a few things you should know.
Bostonians, this isn’t a citywide election. As aforementioned, it’s just for those who reside in the second and 13th Suffolk districts.
Mayor Walsh’s district (comprised of Ward 7’s Precinct 9; Ward 13 Precincts 6 through 10; Ward 15 Precinct 6; Ward 16 Precincts 1 through 7, 9, 10, 12; and Ward 17 Precincts 3 and 5; and Quincy’s Ward 3, Precinct 3) can broadly be considered Savin Hill as well as the surrounding areas in Dorchester and South Boston. O’Flaherty’s former territory includes all 7 Charlestown precincts, and extends into the City of Chelsea.
Polls will open at 7:00 a.m. sharp and won’t close down until 8:00 p.m. If you plan on casting a ballot, you must take one of the party in which your are enrolled. If you happen to be one of the 2.2 million unenrolled voters in Massachusetts, you may choose either the Democratic or Republican ballot. Political Designation voters do not participate in Primary elections.
The mayor’s office also notes that there’s been a change in venue for some voters. Said Mayor Walsh’s press office in a statement, “Voters in Ward 17 Precinct 3, who have been voting at the Codman Square Tech Center, will be returning to the former polling location, Roxbury Prep (the Lucy Stone campus), 22 Regina Road.”
There are five Democratic candidates running for Mayor Walsh’s old seat and three running for O’Flaherty’s. What this means is: in essence, the primary election will act as the general election, simply because there is no Republican candidate for the Democratic winner to square off against come the April 1 general.
The Boston Election Department told BostInno that while this is true in theory, there’s always the slim chance that a write-in candidate could emerge in both the primary and general elections. It’s possible–but unlikely.
For more information on the candidates hoping for a Beacon Hill bid, take a look at some of the specific coverage here. In the meantime, feel free to weigh in with thoughts and ideas regarding the special election in the comments section below.
