BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Boston Elections Department has already received tens of thousands of vote-by-mail applications, according to Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley.
As of Friday, O'Malley said the city's Elections Department had received 70,000 ballot applications.
Voting by mail is available to all Massachusetts voters for all elections in 2020, and there is no excuse needed to vote by mail. The process includes filling out out a vote-by-mail application, delivering it to your local election office, voting when your ballot arrives, and returning your completed ballot.
Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin told WBZ NewsRadio he has concerns about the recent federal cost-cutting measures for the USPS, and what he called the "inexperience" of new senior managers at the postal service. However, Galvin said the state and the USPS work very closely together ahead of elections, and he's confident the local postal service will be able to deliver this year's ballots on time.
"We are monitoring things very closely," Galvin told WBZ NewsRadio. "[If] you've received your ballot, and you're prepared to vote; vote, and send it back. The postage on these ballots is prepaid."
Read More: State Voting Division Is "Closely" Monitoring Mail-In Ballots
In addition to voting by mail or voting on Election Day, O'Malley said Bostonians can also vote early between Saturday August 22nd and Friday August 28th.
"Can we beat our 3/3 Presidential primary turnout (145K votes) for our state primary on 9/1?" tweeted O'Malley, "Looks promising!"
The Election Department said the voter registration deadline in Boston is Saturday, August 22nd at 8 p.m. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Wednesday August 26th, and the deadline for in-person absentee voting is Monday August 31st at noon.
According to Galvin, applications must reach local election offices by August 26th for the State Primary, and by October 28th for the State Election.
Galvin said State Primary ballots also need to be back at local election offices by 8 p.m. on September 1st, and State Election ballots need to be postmarked no later than November 3rd and must be back at local election offices no later than November 6th.
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