SOUTH COAST Friday, Oct. 30, was the last day of in-person early voting in Massachusetts, and more than 983,000 ballots were already in as of Thursday, about 19% turnout, according to figures from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office reported by Boston 25 News. That count includes nearly 700,000 mail ballots and about 286,000 ballots cast at early voting sites. State officials said roughly 360,000 mail ballots sent to voters had not come back, the station reported.
WWLP reported a matching count of more than 286,000 early in-person voters as of Thursday evening, and said 65.5% of the more than 1 million mail ballots sent out had been returned. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line by 8 p.m. can still vote, the Secretary's 2026 voter guide says.
How the count grew
The total more than doubled between Oct. 21 and Oct. 29. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office put it at more than 476,000 on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 21, WHDH reported. By Monday, Oct. 26, it passed 739,000, or 14.3% of registered voters, with 555,235 ballots returned by mail and 183,823 cast in person, according to the office's figures as the Dorchester Reporter published them. In-person early voting then added about 102,000 ballots between Monday and Thursday.
| As of | Ballots in | By mail | Early, in person | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, Oct. 21 | More than 476,000 | Not given | Not given | WHDH |
| Monday, Oct. 26 | More than 739,000 | 555,235 | 183,823 | Dorchester Reporter |
| Thursday, Oct. 29 | More than 983,000 | Nearly 700,000 | About 286,000 | Boston 25 News |
Against the last state election
In the 2022 state election, the last one held without a presidential race, 2,511,461 ballots were cast statewide, counting blanks in the governor's race, the Secretary's official results show. The ballots in through Thursday equal about 39% of that total, with Election Day still ahead.
The 2026 figures in these reports are statewide only, with no city or town counts yet, so the town table below is from 2022, for comparison. SC360 will add each South Coast community's 2026 count when the Secretary's office or the local clerks release it.
In 2022, the 16 South Coast communities, Taunton included, cast 133,624 ballots, the Secretary's official results show. New Bedford had the most that year, at 21,154, and Marion the fewest, at 2,813.
| City or town | 2022 ballots cast |
|---|---|
| Acushnet | 4,158 |
| Dartmouth | 12,806 |
| Dighton | 3,234 |
| Fairhaven | 6,832 |
| Fall River | 18,274 |
| Freetown | 3,845 |
| Marion | 2,813 |
| Mattapoisett | 3,785 |
| New Bedford | 21,154 |
| Rehoboth | 5,429 |
| Rochester | 2,889 |
| Somerset | 7,741 |
| Swansea | 6,952 |
| Taunton | 16,978 |
| Wareham | 9,011 |
| Westport | 7,723 |
| Total | 133,624 |
What to do with a mail ballot now
The Secretary's guide strongly recommends that anyone who has not mailed a ballot within a week of Election Day return it by drop box or in person instead, and Galvin repeated that warning this week, the Dorchester Reporter reported.
Ballots left in a drop box or handed in at the local election office must arrive by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Galvin said, according to the same report. A ballot sent through the mail counts if it is postmarked by Nov. 3 and reaches the election office by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, the Fall River Elections Department's Oct. 29 notice says.
That notice also tells Fall River voters they cannot return a mail ballot at their polling place on Election Day. The city's ballot drop box is outside the Third Street entrance, and the Elections Department at One Government Center takes ballots in person at Office 636. The notice reminds voters to seal both ballot cards in the envelope, and says the law requires an envelope without a signed affidavit to be rejected as defective. The department answers questions at 508-324-2630.
A voter who asked for a mail ballot but never sent it back can still vote in person Tuesday, Boston 25 News reported. In Westport, the last early voting hours ran until 4 p.m. Friday at Town Hall, 816 Main Road, the town's schedule shows.
Polling places, drop boxes and each town's last deadlines are in SC360's where to vote guide, and any voter can look up an assigned polling place at VoteInMA.com, the Secretary's guide says.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
The 2026 statewide counts are the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office figures as Boston 25 News, WWLP, the Dorchester Reporter and WHDH reported them, each credited where it appears. The 2022 numbers come from the Secretary's official results, and the voting rules from the Secretary's 2026 Information for Voters guide, the Fall River Elections Department's Oct. 29 notice and Westport's early voting schedule, all listed below. We read them on Oct. 30, 2026. We added Monday's mail and in-person figures, took Monday's in-person count from Thursday's, and divided Thursday's total by the 2022 total ourselves. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. None of these reports gave 2026 city or town counts, so the town table is 2022 only.
Corrections
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Sources (8)
- Boston 25 News: 2026 Mass. election: Early voting ends Friday. How many ballots have been cast so far?Posted Oct. 30, 2026, 12:29 p.m. The Secretary of State's Office count as of Thursday: more than 983,000 ballots, nearly 700,000 by mail, about 286,000 early in person, about 19% turnout; roughly 360,000 mail ballots out; an unreturned mail ballot does not bar voting in person. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- WWLP 22News: Last day for early voting in Massachusetts ahead of Election DayPosted Oct. 30, 2026. More than 286,000 early voters as of Thursday evening; 65.5% of more than 1 million mail ballots returned. Read through its Yahoo News copy. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Dorchester Reporter: Galvin: It's time to use drop boxes not mail ahead of next Tuesday's electionPosted Oct. 28, 2026. The Secretary's Monday figures (555,235 by mail, 183,823 in person, 14.3% of registered voters) and Galvin's quote on mailing. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- WHDH 7News: Early voting numbers up from 2022, more than 9% of MA voters have already cast ballotsPosted Oct. 22, 2026. Galvin's office: more than 476,000 votes cast as of Wednesday afternoon. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Secretary of the Commonwealth, election statistics: 2022 Governor General Election, results by city and townTotal votes cast, blanks included: 2,511,461 statewide and each South Coast community's total. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Fall River Elections Department: 2026 State Election, Absentee and Mail-In Ballot FINAL ReminderDated Oct. 29, 2026. Drop box and Office 636 deadline 8 p.m. Nov. 3; no mail ballots at polling places; mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 accepted until 5 p.m. Nov. 6; seal both cards, sign the affidavit; 508-324-2630. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Secretary of the Commonwealth: Information for Voters, 2026 (posted by the Fall River Elections Department)Polling hours and the line rule, early voting Oct. 17 to 30, ways to return a ballot, the drop box advice within a week of Election Day, VoteInMA.com. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
- Town of Westport: Early Voting Schedule, State Election, November 3, 2026Westport Town Hall, 816 Main Road; Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read Oct. 30, 2026.