More than 500,000 voters have now cast ballots in the state's first experiment in early voting, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth told WGBH News today.
Spokesman Brian McNiff said exact figures weren't available, since individual voting precincts are still counting votes cast over the weekend, but that the number of voters was "at least" 500,000, or just over ten percent of registered voters.
Since early voting began last week, various reports have described steady turnout and a generally robust response to the new process. But hard numbers have been hard to come by: The Secretary of Commonwealth has declined so far to release more detailed break-downs of the numbers by voting precinct.
This year, Massachusetts joined thirty-three other states that offer some form of "no excuse" early voting; other states allow early voting for voters who would be unable to vote in person.
