WORCESTEr, Mass. - It is time for voters in Worcester to make up their minds and vote in local races.

Election Day in Worcester is Tuesday and city residents will have up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday night to decides the winners in several municipal races.

"As soon at 8:20 (p.m.), 8:30 (p.m,) you will start getting those initial results," City Clerk Niko Vangjeli said. "Hopefully, they keep on rolling until the end of the night."

Vangjeli said over the past few weeks, they've collected nearly 2,000 ballots between early voting and mail-in ballots. 

"This year, voters have had more opportunities to vote than they ever had in any local election," Vangjeli said. 

What You Need To Know

  • Ahead of Tuesday's election, Worcester collected about 2,000 ballots in early voting and mail-in ballots
  • City Clerk, Niko Vangjeli, said the city typically experiences a smaller turnout of voters in local elections
  • Local political expert said the feud between candidates is stronger than compared to other elections
  • However, the fueds aren't expected to impact how people vote in a major way

 

Traditionally, Worcester experiences a smaller voter turnout, especially in its local races.

"Local elections, it's usually its a smaller turnout because a lot of folks are either not alert the election is coming up or they just don't resonate with some choices on the ballot," Vangjeli said.

While this election is getting less attention with less candidates on the ballot than in the past, debates between candidates running for city council and school committee are heated, surrounding issues like policing and vaccine mandates.

"If you were just meeting the candidates you would have no idea there are really serious issues at stake," Clark University professor, Robert Boatright, said. "Then when you get the campaign literature, I think it's some of the nastiest I've seen in any election here."

Professor Boatright teaches political science and said because of the city's low voter turnout in the past, he doesn't expect the feuds to impact much of the election or how people vote.

"If you think back to our last election, which was much more competitive and much bigger issues at stake, I think people got very worked up about that election," Boatright said. "In the end, not that much changed and not that many people turned out to vote."

If you are still waiting to make a decision on your mail-in ballot, Vangjeli said you have plenty of time to bring it to one of the drop box locations (City Hall, voting locations or any Worcester Fire station) before 8 pm. on Tuesday. He asks you not to mail them because the ballot will not be counted in time.​