1.7 million people voted early in Massachusetts. Here's a closer look at the numbers.
BOSTON - Early voting in Election 2024 was a popular choice in Massachusetts.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday when polls opened, the secretary of state's office said 1,740,448 people had already voted before Election Day.
That's 33.8 percent of registered voters in Massachusetts.
Early voting
According to the state, 1,143,419 ballots had been cast by mail. Another 597,029 people went to a polling place to vote early.
Early voting in Massachusetts started back on Saturday, October 19 and ended on Friday, November 1.
Every community had it, including the city of Boston, which reported 91,213 early ballots cast. That's 20.8 percent of registered voters in Boston.
Early voting results
Even though so many people have already filled out their ballots and returned them, the results of early voting are not released early.
According to the secretary of state's website, local election officials can organize early ballots but they can't start counting them or release any vote totals "until polls close on Election Day." That's 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
How to vote
There were two ways to vote before Election Day - by mail or during the early voting period.
The secretary of state's office sent out applications to all registered voters 45 days before Election Day.
Remember, once you fill out the ballot and turn it in, that's it. You can't take your ballot back - whether it's voting by mail, voting early or voting on Election Day.