Lynn Primary Turnout Just 14.8%

On Tuesday, September 14th, Lynn voters cast their ballots in the municipal primary that saw three candidates vying to make the two spots available on the November ballot. Overall, turnout in the city was considerably low with just 14.8% of the Lynn's 55,595 registered voters participating in the primary. This year's turnout was comparable to turnout in 2009 and lower than 2013 where there were just two mayoral candidates both of whom moved forward to the November general election. 

Turnout varied across the city with the highest turnout in Ward 1 and the lowest in Ward 6.

Specifically in Ward 1, precincts 1 and 2 had decent turnout at 30% and 24.7% respectively. 

On the flip side, 7 ward precincts had voter turnout that was less 10%. Three of those precincts were in Ward 6 alone.  

Among the three mayoral candidates, current Lynn School Committee member Jared Nicholson was the top vote getter followed by current Ward 3 City Councilor and City Council President Darren Cyr. The two will face off in the November general election which will be held on Tuesday, November 2nd. 

Source: Lynn City Hall, Chief of Elections

Lynn Primary Voter Turnout Higher than 3 Recent Municipal Elections

In last week's state primary that saw incumbent Senator Ed Markey face off against Congressman Joe Kennedy III among other races, nearly 26% of registered Lynn voters cast a ballot. Turnout in primary elections does tend to be lower than November general elections but interestingly in Lynn, voter participation in last week's election was actually higher than three of five recent November municipal elections. 

Unsurprisingly, the municipal elections where turnout was lower were in races in which there was no mayoral election. Next year will include a mayoral race in addition to city council and school committee races and we would except to see turnout similar to 2013 and 2017. Turnout in the 2016 presidential election in Lynn was 65%.

Source: Lynn City Elections and Voting 

Lynn Early Voting Schedule 2020

For those interested in voting early in this year's September primary, voting begins on Saturday, August 22nd and ends on Friday, August 28th.

Here is the schedule: 

DAY	DATE - 2020	HOURS
Saturday	August 22nd	8 AM – 2 PM
Sunday	August 23rd	8 AM – 2 PM
Monday	August 24th	8:30 AM – 4 PM
Tuesday	August 25th	8:30 AM – 8 PM
Wednesday	August 26th	8:30 AM – 4 PM
Thursday	August 27th	8:30 AM – 4 PM
Friday	August 28th	8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Source: City Elections and Voting 

Voting will take place at Lynn City Hall. The primary will be held on Tuesday, September 1st; for your regular polling place, see here. 

Lynn Voter Turnout 20% in Yesterday's Election

Yesterday, Lynn held it municipal election for both City Council and School Committee. Overall, turnout in the city was approximately 20% (19.99% according to the unofficial results to be precise). Voter turnout did vary depending on ward with Ward 1 posting the highest turnout at just over 30% and Ward 4 with the lowest turnout at 12.21%. 

For the full election results, see here. 

Turnout in this year's municipal election was the lowest it has been in city elections during the past decade. 

When comparing turnout just in elections where there is no mayoral race like the election this year, turnout was also lower overall. 

In 2020, voters in the city will have the opportunity to cast their vote for President, US Senate, Congress, State Senate and State Representative. Voter turnout in Lynn during the last presidential election (2016) was 65%. 

Source: City Elections and Voting Webpage

Lynn Midterm Election Voter Turnout

Tuesday's 2018 midterm election saw historic voter turnout nationwide with an estimated 49% of eligible voters casting a ballot (compared to 36.7% in 2014). In Lynn, voter turnout was up just slightly from 2014 (+3.7).

The city overall overwhelming voted for incumbents Senator Elizabeth Warren (67% to 30%) and Governor Charlie Baker (61% to 39%). Lynners also voted on the ballot questions in line with the final statewide results (No; Yes; Yes).

While the official voter participation rate statewide has not been posted yet, Secretary of State William Galvin did expect 2.4 million ballots to be cast in Massachusetts (equivalent to a more than 50% turnout rate).

Source: Lynn City Clerk and Elections Office

Lynn Voter Turnout Rates [2008 - 2017]

Given the recent political events and current climate, there has been a renewed push for voter participation in this year's midterm election. Here we take a look a Lynn's voter turnout rates for the past decade. 

Presidential Elections

• 2008
• 2012
• 2016

Municipal Elections

• 2009 (mayoral race)
• 2011
• 2013 (mayoral race)
• 2015
• 2017 (mayoral race)

Gubernatorial/Midterm Elections

• 2010
• 2014
• 2018 (Participation rate TBD)

As previously noted, voter participation in Lynn tends to be highest for presidential election years and lowest in years where there is a municipal election but no mayoral contest. 

Source: Lynn City Elections and Voting Web Page

Lynn Sees Lowest Voter Turnout in City Elections

Understandably, there has much discussion lately in the news and on social media regarding the upcoming presidential election. This is not surprising given both the stakes in this year's election but also given the candidates, Democratic nominee Secretary Hillary Clinton and Republic nominee Donald Trump. Further, presidential elections in general seem to garner more interest that municipal or state elections. In Lynn, this is certainly the case. Below is voter turnout in the city over the last eight years.

2008 and 2012 were both presidential election years and saw Lynn's highest voter participation rates. The lowest turnout were in municipal election years with no mayoral race (2011 and 2015. In last year's municipal election, voter turnout was highest in Ward One at 32.7% and lowest in Ward Six at 14.4%. Surrounding cities/towns saw similar patterns with Chelsea seeing a 60.19% voter turnout rate in 2012 and then 15.63% and 20.54% in the 2013 and 2015 municipal elections respectively. Last year's municipal election in Revere saw a 40.73% voter turnout compared to 88.43% in the last gubernatorial race. From this it seems that overall voters are much more attuned to or willing to vote in state and national elections compared to their very local city elections.


Sources:

• Chelsea City Clerk - Election Results
• Lynn City Clerk - Election Results Archive
• Revere Election Commission - Election Results

Lynn Voter Turnout/Results 2012

Out of a possible 50,604 votes, 31,866 Lynners voted in the presidential race with 72.07% of the vote going to President Obama and 26.56% going to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Third party candidates also made a showing with 259 people voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson (0.81%) and 113 voters casting a ballot for Green Party candidate Jill Stein (0.35%). Overall, voter turnout in the presidential race was 63%.

In the Senate race, Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren earned 65.13% of the Lynn vote compared to Republican incumbent Scott Brown's 34.74%.

For U.S Congress, incumbent John Tierney took 69.81% of the vote compared to Republican challenger Richard Tisei's 26.21% and Libertarian candidate Daniel Fishman's 3.72%.

In the one contested state representative race, Democratic incumbent Robert Fennell beat Republican candidate Dwight 'Dusty' Caufield 81.63% to 16.82% to remain 10th Essex District State Representative.

Lynn voters also voted 'Yes' on the right to repair (Question 1) and for medical marijuana (Question 3), but 'No' on physician assisted suicide (Question 2).

Check out LynnHappens for a complete breakdown of Lynn's voting results: http://lynnhappens.com/?p=6454