Ballot drop off box by Eastham Town Hall. 2020
HYANNIS – Voting advocates are reminding residents that results may not be immediately available following Tuesday’s election, especially considering the increase in ballots cast by mail in recent years.
Common Cause Massachusetts Executive Director Geoff Foster said that this year marks the first with permanent vote-by-mail without excuse.
With these new expanded options for voters, Foster says elections will likely look fundamentally different going forward, and voters may need more patience as election officials work to deliver accurate results.
“We need to be patient and supportive of our election administrators, because we really want them to accurately count every ballot that was cast early, by mail, or on election day. We really want to make sure the results are right. We are enthusiastic and believe that the results are going to be accurate, and that the elections will be very secure,” Foster said.
He added that it could be days before every ballot is counted under the new law.
“A ballot cast by mail could be postmarked on election day, and it actually has until Saturday the 12th to be received by your town or city and it can still be counted. So official results might take a few days and we really want folks to exercise patience and just know that because it takes a little bit more time to get our results, it means the new system is working well.”
Foster also urged voters to be kind and considerate to poll workers during the election.
Voters with questions, or who encounter problems on election day, can contact Common Cause Massachusetts’ nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.
The Spanish language hotline can be reached at 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682); the Arabic at 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287); and Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean and other Asian languages at 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683).
CapeCod.com’s coverage of the election, including interviews with the candidates, can be found here.
The full interview with Geoff Foster can be found below:
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